Disclaimer: I do not own Criminal Minds.
A/N: Shout out to tannerose5, ElisaC, Chermayne for reviewing chapter 24.
Despite Spencer and Clarissa getting married in Manassas, Virginia at Clarissa's childhood church, they joined a church in Washington DC so they don't have to spend over 100 minutes on the road every Sunday when they drive to and from church.
Despite what happened in Texas last month when it came to Hurricane Harvey, I hope you readers that are in the path of Category 5 Hurricane Irma will stay safe.
Friday Evening
Spencer hurriedly packed up his desk when Morgan looked at him.
"Elle, JJ, Garcia, and I are going out to get a kick start to our weekend, and I was hoping that you would join us." said Morgan.
"I can't because I already made plans with some friends from church." said Spencer as he thought about the breakfast for dinner routine that he and Clarissa love to have on Friday evenings when he's home.
"Have fun." said Elle.
"I will." said Spencer as he quickly pulled on his green and brown corduroy jacket before slinging his messenger bag around his shoulders just as Hotch who was in his winter jacket and had his briefcase came down the stairs.
"Want a ride so you don't have to take the train?" asked Hotch.
"Yes please." said Spencer before looking at Morgan and Elle, "Have a nice weekend guys and I will see you on Monday." said Spencer.
A minute later Spencer and Hotch were by the elevators when Garcia met up with them.
"You don't want to go out with JJ, Elle, my hot stuff, and me?" asked Garcia.
"I already have plans that I can't cancel." said Spencer.
Spencer entered his house, and he smiled at how the decorations for Christmas were already up while smelling hash browns, breakfast sausage, and scrambled eggs from the kitchen as he hung up his winter jacket.
"Honey I'm home." called out Spencer as he put his gun into the gun safe before heading into the dining room where Diana was already in her high chair and Clarissa and Lucy were putting their dinner onto the dining room table.
"Daddy!" exclaimed Diana.
Spencer gave Diana a kiss before kissing his wife.
"How was work?" asked Clarissa.
"Good." smiled Spencer before giving Clarissa and Diana each a kiss before smiling at his wife, "You?" asked Spencer.
"I had a good day, and I was thinking that tomorrow we can go to Children's National so you can put on a magic show for the kids again." said Clarissa as she thought about how Spencer tries to do a monthly magic show for the kids.
"I would be glad to." smiled Spencer as he sat down.
A minute later Spencer, Clarissa, and Lucy were clasping their hands so Spencer could say Grace before they all started digging into their dinner.
"Haley was talking about us having double date tomorrow night." said Clarissa as she added ketchup onto her shredded hash browns.
"She wants to get out of the house for awhile?" asked Spencer.
"Yes." said Clarissa.
"So speaking of tonight, should we have a family movie night before bed?" asked Spencer.
"We should watch whatever Christmas specials that are showing on ABC Family tonight." said Clarissa.
After dinner was cleaned up, Spencer, Clarissa, and Diana were in the living room building a blanket fort and a fire in the fireplace before they settled down in their fort and watched "A Year Without a Santa Claus", and "How the Grinch Stole Christmas" and Diana was giggling as she listened to her parents sing along to the songs during both movies.
After the movies were over and Diana was given her nightly bath, Spencer and Clarissa smiled down at their sleeping daughter.
"Daddy loves you so much baby girl." said Spencer as he gave his nearly two year old daughter a kiss.
"Mommy loves you." said Clarissa as she gave her daughter a kiss.
As soon as both parents stood up to their full heights, Spencer raised the railing of Diana's crib and a few minutes later they were downstairs cleaning up Diana's toys.
"We should put Diana's big girl bed together tomorrow." said Clarissa.
"I just can't believe that my baby girl is turning two in 12 days." said Spencer sadly.
"Me too Spence." said Clarissa.
"I love it when you call me Spence, Clara." said Spencer.
"I love it when you decide to call me Clara." giggled Clarissa.
"You make me think of of the American Red Cross's founder Clara Barton who's name was Clarissa." grinned Spencer as he put away the last blanket from the blanket fort that he and Clarissa ended up building.
Clarissa blushed before grinning wickedly at her husband.
"How about you make sure that the house is secure while I get an early Christmas present for you." said Clarissa as she thought about one of the Christmas shopping trips that she went on with Haley.
"OK." said Spencer.
A few minutes later Spencer was groaning when he saw Clarissa wearing Christmas themed lingerie while undressing him.
Saturday
Spencer and Clarissa entered the day room at Children's National with Diana on Spencer's hip, and Clarissa smiled when she saw a bunch of her patients in the day room along with a few other kids from the cancer ward.
"I have a surprise for you guys." said Clarissa.
"Who are they?" asked 7 year old Randy as he noticed a tall young man and a toddler.
"Randy, these two people are my husband Spencer who's a magician and our 23 month old daughter Diana." said Clarissa as she introduced each child to Spencer.
"Really?" asked five year old Rose.
"I am." said Spencer as he set down his daughter and pulled a quarter out of Diana's ear causing the nearly two year old girl to giggle, "I thought that I did a good job cleaning behind your ears last night." said Spencer as he smiled at the kids shock.
"Can you please show us more tricks?" asked a nine year old girl named Laura.
"I sure can sweetie, and I know a trick that everyone will love." said Spencer as he winked at his wife and pulled everything that he needed for his physics magic out of his messenger bag, "Please close your eyes." said Spencer.
"Why?" asked Randy.
"This magic trick will be my secret since one of the most important rules for a magician is to never reveal your secrets." said Spencer.
"OK." said Randy causing all the kids including Clarissa who was covering Diana's eyes.
Less than 20 seconds later he spoke up.
"You guys can open your eyes now." said Spencer.
"Nothing happening." said Randy.
"Just watch." said Spencer as he used his evil scientist voice to cause Diana and a bunch of other kids to giggle.
10 seconds later all the kids were clapping and cheering when the film canister shot across the room.
Later on that evening Spencer and Clarissa entered the restaurant that Hotch and Haley were waiting for them at, and Clarissa grinned when she was hugging her oldest brother.
"Hey." said Clarissa.
A few minutes later Spencer, Clarissa, Hotch, and Haley had ordered their drinks and Hotch looked at Spencer and Clarissa.
"So how was your evening yesterday and your day today?" asked Hotch.
"We ended up building a fort and a fire in the fire place and watched Christmas specials on ABC Family last night, and this morning we went to Children's National so I could put on my monthly magic show despite me having a bonus one being planned for the 23rd when we help out at the Christmas party for hospitalized children and their families." said Spencer.
"Did physics magic for the kids again?" asked Hotch as he thought about Spencer doing physics magic the day before when he got bored while thinking about the time that he and Haley ended up joining Spencer and Clarissa on a trip to Children's National to entertain the kids.
"Yep." said Spencer with a huge grin on his face.
"The kids definitely loved it when one of Spencer's rockets ended up hitting one of the strictest nurse's forehead." said Clarissa causing some laughter.
"I just can't believe that you will be 24 years old next week Friday." said Hotch as he looked at his baby sister.
"Me too, but Spence and I are both sad that Diana will be turning two in 11 days." said Clarissa.
"Still going to church in the morning?" asked Haley.
"We are, and we're still planning on coming over for brunch tomorrow." said Clarissa as a waitress brought over their drinks and took their orders before Hotch and Haley updated Spencer and Clarissa on Jack.
30 minutes later all four adults were eating dinner while Hotch and Haley were laughing as Spencer and Clarissa told Hotch and Haley about their niece's antics.
Sunday Morning
Spencer and Clarissa smiled when they watched Diana play with one of the little girls that was Diana's age when Reverend Alden came over to them.
"How are you guys doing?" asked Reverend Alden.
"Life's going good right now, and we're excited about my birthday, Diana's birthday, and Christmas." said Clarissa.
"I can't believe that Diana's going to be two." said Reverend Alden as he smiled at Diana's giggles before looking at the young couple that joined his church when they settled down in DC.
"We neither." said Spencer.
"So if your home for Christmas, are you going to put a magic show on for the kids again during the fellowship hour?" asked Reverend Alden.
"I can never refuse giving a magic show for the kids here." said Spencer just as a few kids ran over begging him to do some magic tricks.
The next morning Spencer sighed sadly as he sat down for breakfast.
"Even though I had a great weekend, I'm sad that the weekend if over." said Spencer.
"I am too, but we need to be in Agent Reid and Nurse Reid mode again until this evening." said Clarissa.
"I know, but I can't wait to have December 23rd off and don't have to go back until January 3rd." said Spencer.
"Your lucky that you get all that time off when I have to go back to work after Christmas." grumbled Clarissa.
"Well I'm already planning on helping out at the New Year's Eve party that your planning for the kids." said Spencer as he thought about the possibility of kids having to spend New Year's in the hospital.
"I can't wait because I can already imagine kids saying eww when I pull you into a kiss." teased Clarissa.
"Well I can't wait." said Spencer before taking another sip of his coffee.
Two and a half hours later Spencer was sitting at the round table for briefing with Hotch, JJ, Elle, and Morgan while they waited for Gideon.
"Hope everyone had a restful weekend." said Hotch as he thought about the double date that he and Haley had with Spencer and Clarissa.
"That sounds ominous." said Elle.
JJ clicked her remote.
"Harringtonville, Tennessee, population 5,000. 64 years since they had a homicide. They've had 2 in the past 48 hours." said JJ.
"First victim, 57-year-old widower and grandfather Paul Thompson. Ambushed in his yard, 18 stab wounds to his chest and his neck. No forced entry into the house and the only item taken was a shotgun." said Hotch.
"Last night, Annie Stuart, 39, was also ambushed and it appears bludgeoned to death in her home with Thompson's stolen shotgun. In this case, the unsub apparently stole CDs DVDs, and a little jewelry." said JJ.
"This is a little extreme for a burglary." said Morgan.
"That's an understatement." said Elle.
"As you can see, Annie's throat was eviscerated." said Hotch as Gideon came into the room on crutches.
"Yet the first victim wasn't eviscerated and the unsub seems to have used a different weapon at each crime scene." said Spencer.
"2 different MO's." said Hotch.
"2 different killers?" asked Elle.
"Or one very psychotic individual." said Gideon causing his teammates who haven't seen him yet look at him.
"What happened to you?" asked Hotch.
"I got a list of things I want to try before it's too late." said Gideon.
Spencer inwardly smirked as he thought about his own list of things that he wanted to complete before he turned 30.
"And orthopedic surgery's one of them?" asked Elle.
"No, skydiving. Apparently it's all about the landing." said Gideon causing some chuckles.
"How long on the crutches?" asked Hotch.
"Just a couple days." said Gideon.
"So you can't go out in the field?" asked Elle.
"Not on crutches, no." said Hotch.
"Don't worry. I'll find a way to be helpful here. Got a blitz attack. No effort to remove the body, clean up evidence." said Gideon as he looked at crime scene photos.
"With organized killers, we see a pattern we're able to predict their behavior but with psychotic killers, they're guided by a given delusion." said Hotch.
"OK, until we understand the nature of the delusion we can't predict his next move." said Morgan.
"That's nearly impossible to do." said Hotch.
Spencer studied a crime scene photo before speaking up.
"Actually, I think we might have a clue. These rings at that crime scene might be some kind of signature?" asked Spencer as he showed the pictures he was looking at.
"I can work this angle. I'll see if there's any significance to the patterns." said Gideon.
"Psychotic killers are normally not that difficult to catch because they don't try to hide." said Hotch.
"Does that make your job easier?" asked JJ.
"Oh, no. 'cause until we do locate him he'll keep doing that." said Gideon as he showed a picture.
A few minutes later Spencer was sending Clarissa a quick text.
GOING TO HARRINGTONVILLE, TENNESSEE AND GIDEON'S STAYING BEHIND SINCE HE INJURED HIM ANKLE WHEN HE WENT SKYDIVING OVER THE WEEKEND CAUSING ME TO THINK ABOUT THE CRAZY STUFF YOU AND I ENDED UP DOING TOGETHER. ~ SR
Spencer who was wearing blue booties over his shoes looked around the living room as he thought about his piano in the living room when Elle joined him downstairs.
"All of the items stolen were taken from the upstairs bedroom. Why didn't he take her purse or cell phone or the jewelry off her body? It just doesn't make any sense." said Elle.
"Didn't make sense to us, either." said Sheriff Hall.
"This guy didn't come any closer to her than he had to." said Spencer as he pointed at the blood stains.
"What do you mean?" asked Sheriff Hall.
"There's a discrepancy in the profile." said Elle.
"Sheriff Hall, it's quite possible there were 2 people in the house." said Spencer.
"So I have 2 monsters out there?" asked Sheriff Hall.
"Someone went through the medicine cabinet looking for drugs. Excessive methamphetamine abuse can cause psychotic violent episodes." said Spencer as he thought about how his uncle Gordon explained to him that his adoptive aunt became schizophrenic due to drug abuse.
"So you think these guys were junkies?" asked Deputy Long.
"I think we're dealing with 2 different profiles. The killer, yeah, he's a psychotic. The other guy, though, he's just a thief. I mean, the fact that he didn't take the victim's jewelry suggests that he identified with her." said Spencer.
"Meaning what?" asked Deputy Long.
"He probably knew her." said Spencer.
"CSU found a soda can by the fence in the grass. It's marked by that cone." said Elle.
"That's right. We figure the suspect 'the suspects, was lying in wait there.'" said Sheriff Hall.
"You spoke to the kid who was having a singing lesson?" asked Elle.
"That's right. Why?" asked Sheriff Hall.
"I'm just wondering why he didn't tell you that he saw the suspect." said Elle.
"What?" asked Sheriff Hall.
Elle pointed at the music stand as she talked.
"Well, CSU found 4 of Wally Brisbane's fingerprints right here on the music stand in this position. Now, from where I'm standing, my height I got tree branches blocking my way. But Wally's seven, so that would put his eye-line right about... Here." said Elle causing Spencer to crouch down with her as his mouth opened up as he looked at Elle.
A short while later Spencer and Elle arrived at the station with Deputy Long and Sheriff Hall.
"The guy the kid described definitely sounds like a tweaker." said Elle.
Sheriff Hall looked at his deputy.
"Pull the files of all the methamphetamine arrests in the past 6 months." said Sheriff Hall.
"Will do." said Deputy Long.
"We should narrow the suspect list down according to the guy's residence. Crimes like these are always crimes of opportunity." said Spencer.
"So the first guy on our suspect list will live in the closest proximity to the victim." said Elle.
"Do have a place where we can set up?" asked Spencer as he thought about how small the station was.
"You can use Simpson's desk. He's out. You got a phone there and a computer. Meantime, I'm gonna narrow down that list." said Sheriff Hall as he hung up his jacket causing Spencer and Elle to find Simpson's desk and started to set up.
Spencer and Elle were diligently going through the files they had while bouncing off ideas when Hotch and Morgan arrived.
"Hey, you guys find anything?" asked Morgan.
"Yeah. Elle found an eyewitness, little boy who saw someone in the driveway." said Spencer as he thought about the magic trick that Elle asked him to do for Wally before they headed to the station.
"That's more than we got at Thompson's." said Hotch.
Deputy Long approached them.
"We got 2 suspects. Judd Franklin and Domino Thacker." said Deputy Long as she passed two files just as Sheriff Hall approached them.
"I know Domino. He's bad news. Serious tweaker. Cooks his own stuff." said Sheriff Hall.
"He live near the crime scenes?" asked Elle.
"Almost directly between them." said Sheriff Hall.
Spencer who was leaning back a bit with his hands behind his head watched Morgan read.
"Robbery, armed robbery, possession, possession with intent. This guy's been hospitalized for overdoses and attempted suicide." said Morgan.
"What do you think?" asked Sheriff Hall.
"I think we need to find Domino." said Elle.
A few hours later Spencer was giving the profile with his teammates.
"We are looking for a 20- 30-year-old male." said Hotch.
"The unsub engages in anthropophagy. It's a psychotic conviction that he must drink human blood and possibly eat human flesh." said Morgan.
"For Richard Rrenton Chase, the vampire killer he drank his victims' blood because he believed that aliens had invaded his body and were slowly drinking his blood." said Spencer.
"And if he didn't get the blood he needed... He'd die. Anthropophagy suggests such an extreme level of psychosis and disorganization that he couldn't have ventured very far from home to commit these crimes." said Hotch.
"This guy lives or has lived in this town." said Morgan.
"He knows the territory." said Hotch.
"You've all seen him. Maybe at the ballpark. Or riding his bike home from the grocery store. He wasn't always a threat. He could have been your neighbor. He might have been your friend. We think something about his delusion is keeping him here in town." said Morgan.
"So we're gonna start at Annie Stuart's house and we're gonna spread out there in quadrants. We're gonna eliminate all of his hiding places." said Hotch.
"Paul Thompson's funeral is this afternoon. A lot of his neighbors are gonna be there." said Sheriff Hall.
Later on that evening Spencer was standing in their latest victim's kitchen with Hotch and Morgan as he thought about the little boy who was smiling and laughing at his magic tricks who was taken by their unsub.
"The little boy was at both crime scenes." said Hotch.
"The unsub might have been after him all along." said Morgan.
"I'm sure that's what Mrs. Brisbane thinks." said Elle as she thought about how angry the mother was at her.
"I want you to talk to her when she calms down see if she can come up with any leads." said Hotch.
"She's not gonna want to talk to me." said Elle.
"Persuade her." said Hotch before looking at Deputy Long, "You found the body, right, deputy?" asked Hotch.
"Yes, sir. If you don't mind, I'll wait out here." said Deputy Long.
"That's fine." said Hotch as he motioned Spencer to follow him.
Less than a minute later Spencer and Hotch were in the room where Lynette Giles was found.
"Another evisceration. Her throat was slashed." said Spencer.
"That's why nobody heard her scream." said Hotch.
Spencer looked puzzled at the body.
"He split her rib cage open?" asked Spencer.
Hotch instantly found a bloodied tool that would be strong enough.
"With these." said Hotch.
Spencer instantly realized what organ was missing.
"Looks like this time his target was the heart." said Spencer.
"Did he take it?" asked Hotch.
"Yes." said Spencer.
A short while later Spencer, Hotch, and Morgan were back at the station patching through with Gideon and Garcia.
"He took the heart? Hotch?" asked Gideon.
"Yeah." said Hotch.
"The heart has always had incredible symbolic significance. I mean, aside from just banal romantic associations. The Egyptians left the heart in mummies because they believed the organ ensured eternal life." said Spencer.
"Something I read..." said Gideon as he tried to search for a book, "Oh, there it is... oh!" said Gideon as he crashed into something causing Spencer, Hotch, and Morgan to get amused at the antics of Gideon and Garcia as Gideon tried to find what he was looking for before Gideon became serious.
"There was...there was an article by a Cambridge professor. It seems that, uh all the organs the unsub's taken... Stomach, liver, now the heart... Were thought to be the seat of the soul at one time or another." said Gideon.
Spencer looked at the picture that was scanned over to them.
"Then he drinks their blood?" asked Spencer.
"So when this man drinks his victims' blood..." said Hotch.
"He believes he's encountering the divine." finished Spencer.
"Wait a minute. None of this explains why he took the kid." said Morgan.
"Well, the, uh unsub made the victim into an angel. Maybe the kid's a messianic figure." said Gideon.
"Let's just hope he doesn't feel the need to sacrifice him." said Hotch as he thought about his nearly two year old niece and his one and a half month old son.
A short while later Spencer was with Hotch at the new crime scene and Sheriff Long was comforting his deputy as Hotch opened the container that was left.
"He must have come by between patrols." said Deputy Long.
"Now, Jackie, it's not your fault." said Sheriff Hall.
"Well, what the hell is it?" asked Deputy Long.
Hotch examined the container.
"It's a human stomach." said Hotch grimly as he placed the container onto a stool.
"Oh, my god. You mean Dave's wife?" asked Deputy Long.
Spencer crouched down a bit.
"We can only assume." said Spencer.
"Now, none of the neighbors saw anything?" asked Sheriff Hall.
"Well, we talked to Miss Wade across the road. Nothing. And the Maynards aren't even home." said Deputy Long.
"All right. We need a 24-hour watch here and at the other crime scenes, too. Go on." said Sheriff Hall causing his deputy to walk away as Sheriff Hall looked at Hotch, "Now, Agent Hotchner, I need to be very clear here. Right now all we got is some theory about a religious delusion. I mean, how the hell do you explain that?" asked Sheriff Hall.
"Sometimes disorganized killers return body parts to the grave sites. It might be nothing. It might just be a way for him to manipulate the body even after death. But it may also be an act of remorse." said Spencer.
"Even in the most extreme psychotic episodes there are variations in lucidity, degrees of insightfulness." said Hotch.
"If I'm coming out of a delusion... Just killed someone and drank their blood..." said Spencer as he stood up to his full height.
Hotch instantly realized what Spencer was doing.
"And I'm starting to feel bad about it..." said Hotch.
"Where do I go?" asked Spencer as he thought about Clarissa's Christian upbringing.
"Sheriff, how many churches are in this town?" asked Hotch.
Sheriff Hall chuckled.
"Gentlemen, this is the bible belt. Maybe 15." said Sheriff Hall.
"I would post an officer at every single one. Call in auxiliary cops if you have them." said Hotch.
"All right. You got it." said Sheriff Hall as he used his walkie talkie, "Long, get on the phone with me." said Sheriff Hall.
A short while later Spencer was in the holding area with Hotch, Morgan, Elle, and Sheriff Hall.
"His name's Eddie Mays, 21 years old." said Sheriff Hall.
"Do you know him?" asked Hotch.
"Yeah. I just can't believe a boy like Eddy would do something like this. He was the nicest kid you ever saw." said Sheriff Hall.
"He's mentally ill, sheriff. A boy like Eddie Mays could truly use an insanity plea in a court of law." said Spencer.
"You know, the ironic thing about psychotic illness is generally they're less violent than the rest of the population." said Hotch.
"By the nature of psychotic delusions, when they do get violent..." said Elle.
Morgan looked at Eddie.
"We're never gonna get anywhere with him. Not like this. Look at the guy. You can't read him is rights. You can't even process him." said Morgan.
"I better call his mother. It's a damn shame. His daddy died just a couple years ago. This is gonna fall awful hard on her." said Sheriff Hall.
"What's the family like?" asked Hotch.
"Dad was a doctor and Mary Gwathmey Mays comes from one of the oldest families in Tennessee." said Sheriff Hall.
"I'd like to meet her." said Hotch.
"We already have." said Elle.
Spencer waited with Hotch as they waited for Doctor Lindsey to medicate Eddie, and Spencer smiled when he saw a text message from Clarissa.
DIANA AND I BOTH MISS YOU, AND I CAN'T WAIT FOR YOU TO COME HOME. ~ CR
A few minutes later Doctor Lindsey came over to them.
"I've administered the haloperidol to Mr. Mays." said Doctor Lindsey.
"How long until it takes effect?" asked Hotch.
"It's coming on now. Full effect in about 15 minutes or so." said Doctor Lindsey.
"Good." said Hotch.
"You have to realize that while the drug will make him appear to be asymptomatic it will not necessarily remove his delusional state." said Doctor Lindsey.
"Will it make him more lucid?" asked Hotch.
"Possibly. But let me make this clear. I gave him the shot because he needed to be medicated not so you could agitate him by putting him through an interrogation. That boy needs to be hospitalized." said Doctor Lindsey.
"Well, a jury might agree with you but right now he needs to answer some questions 'cause there's a little boy we need to find. Thank you." said Hotch before looking at Spencer who was sitting patiently and motioned him to follow him.
A few seconds later Spencer was handing Deputy Long his gun, and less than a minute later he was in Eddie's cell with Hotch who sat on the bed.
"Hey, Eddie. Do you know where you are?" asked Hotch gently.
"Jail." said Eddie.
"That's right. Do you know why?" asked Hotch.
"I was very bad. Before, I was very bad. But I'm... I'm much better now, much... Much better." said Eddie.
"Eddy, do you remember hurting anyone? Where did you go to college, Eddie?" asked Hotch as he thought about how Clarissa enjoyed nursing school.
"Mm. Boston." said Eddie.
"Did you like Boston?" asked Hotch as he thought about how Clarissa lived in Cambridge with Spencer for a year.
"Mm-mmm. No. I don't know." said Eddie.
"What was your favorite thing about Boston, Eddie?" asked Spencer softly as he thought about how he enjoyed touring Boston when Clarissa visited him and after she moved to Cambridge to be with him.
"Harvard time square, I had cappuccino." said Eddie.
"Cappuccino." said Spencer as he grabbed a picture out of his messenger bag and passed it to Hotch.
"Eddie, do you remember Wally? Wally Brisbanes." asked Hotch.
"I know the Brisbanes." said Eddie.
"You took this little boy." said Hotch.
"No. No. I did not... I did not do that." said Eddie.
"Eddie, I understand you're uncomfortable. Your... your hands are cut up. Your arms are bruised. Is... Do you know why?" asked Hotch.
"Yeah." said Eddie.
"You killed 3 people, Eddie." said Hotch.
"You killed 3 people, Eddy. You killed 3 people, Eddie." said Eddie.
Hotch motioned Spencer to show more pictures.
"Paul Thompson. Annie Stuart. Lynette Giles." said Spencer.
"No! No! Stop it! You will... you will be punished. God is punishing you. No, no, no. I brought you an angel. See? No, I do not see. I do not see. Please. Please. Please! I brought you an angel. Please. Take it." ranted Eddie as Spencer and Hotch left the holding cell.
"We need him to tell us where that boy is." said Sheriff Hall.
"Sheriff, we're not gonna get anything out of him until he gets this latest episode under control." said Hotch.
"Agent Hotchner, it's getting cold and dark. If that Brisbane boy's anywhere outside, he won't stand a chance in hell." said Sheriff Hall just as Deputy Long alerted them.
"You all! Hurry up down here! Come on!" shouted Deputy Long.
Less than a minute later Spencer saw Eddie trying to hang himself while JJ and Deputy Long held back Eddie's mom.
A short while later Spencer and Hotch were talking with Mrs. Mays.
"Why weren't you straight with us, Mrs. Mays?" asked Hotch.
"Straight with you?" asked Mrs. Mays.
"You never told us your son was in a mental hospital." said Hotch.
"I spoke with a doctor at a facility in Boston. He said Eddy was released a week ago and that he called you to pick him up and that you never came." said Spencer.
"You asked me if I knew if he'd come home, and I didn't. I... I thought he was in Boston." said Mrs. Mays.
"There was also blood on the floor of your utility room. Do you have any explanation for that?" asked Hotch.
"Well, sometimes I cut my legs when I prune the roses." said Mrs. Mays.
"You prune your roses in winter?" asked Hotch as he thought about the rose bush that Spencer and Clarissa planted together in their backyard and they don't prune the bush in the winter.
"As a matter of fact, I do. When do you prune yours?" asked Mrs. May.
"Mrs. Mays, I understand that you may want to do everything you can to protect your son but that little boy may be dying right now." said Hotch firmly.
"I would like to help you. I really would. But right now, I've got to see about my son." said Mrs. May as she grabbed her jacket
"I think it's better if you stay here." said Spencer firmly.
Hotch looked at Spencer and gave him a look to tell him to stay with Mrs. Mays.
The next morning Spencer was getting dressed in his hotel room when he sent Clarissa a text message.
FLYING BACK TO QUANTICO THIS MORNING, SO I SHOULD BE HOME IN TIME FOR DINNER. ~ SR
A minute later his phone vibrated and he grinned at Clarissa's text.
CAN'T WAIT TO SEE YOU, AND I HAVE PLANS FOR YOU TONIGHT DOCTOR. ~ CR
Spencer chuckled, and after eating breakfast with his team they were flying back to Quantico.
Spencer stepped out of the elevator with his teammates, and Hotch had the feeling to praise his teammates as he thought about how Garcia was irritated.
"Good job. Nice work, everybody, by the way." said Hotch.
"Thank you. Now I get to go back to the 15 folders on my desk." said Elle as they headed into the bullpen.
Spencer looked at Elle in shock.
"Wait a minute. 15? I have 24." said Spencer.
"That's 'cause I slipped you 4 of mine." said Elle causing Hotch and Morgan to smile.
"What?" asked Spencer.
"On Friday." said Elle.
"Yeah. Mm-hmm." said Spencer as he hurried to his desk.
A minute later Elle came over to Spencer and took six files from Spencer's desk just as Spencer's phone vibrated causing Spencer to see a text from Elle who was grinning at him.
SOMETIMES I FORGET THAT YOU HAVE A FAMILY TO GO HOME TO, SO I PROMISE THAT I WILL STOP PUTTING FILES THAT I WAS GIVEN TO DO ONTO YOUR PILE SINCE YOU DESERVE TO GO HOME AT A DECENT TIME. ~ EG
"Thank you." said Spencer.
Morgan looked at Elle.
"Why did you take files from Reid's pile?" asked Morgan.
"Its my early Christmas present for him." said Elle.
"What about taking folders from me?" asked Morgan.
"I'm not taking any from you because I am still mad at you for giving Reid that whistle." said Elle.
Spencer chuckled as he started the consults on his desk.
Later on that evening Spencer got out of Hotch's car, and he grinned when he saw Diana standing by the window causing Hotch to wave at his niece who waved back as Spencer hurried into the house, and as soon as Spencer had his gun in the safe he was scooping up his baby girl and hugged and kissed her.
"Daddy missed you so much baby girl." said Spencer as he carried his daughter to the kitchen and smiled when he saw Clarissa and Lucy putting baked chicken, mashed potatoes, and mixed vegetables onto the dining room table.
"Dinner's done." said Clarissa as she made her way to her husband and kissed him.
A few minutes later Spencer was eating dinner with his wife, daughter, and Lucy.