Disclaimer: I do not own Criminal Minds.
A/N: Shout out to Tegan, Kyla, Cara, Natasha, Aleona, Charis, and fishtrek for reviewing chapter 36.
I have to say that I really hate Assistant Director Linda Barnes on the show especially since she believes that Spencer's more suitable for academia. So I ended up writing a one shot called Spencer Reid Takes Action to help me deal with the new episode withdrawal.
Its going to be a few chapters before Spencer faces off with his father in court, but let's just say that I have planned a plot twist that will deal with William Reid that my grandma loved since she hates William Reid.
This chapter starts the day after the last chapter so Jocelyn is still eight-months-old.
Spencer was sitting at the round table with his teammates when a shocked Emily looked at JJ.
"An unsub that kills with his car. I haven't seen that before," said Emily.
JJ pulled up a picture.
"Neither have the police in Bend, Oregon. Which is why they need our help," said JJ.
Hotch looked at his teammates.
"Two victims in the last 12 days," said Hotch.
"First was hit while on a morning jog Maria Delgado, 23. The second was a stranded motorist, Shannon Makely, 43," said JJ.
"And what makes the locals think that they were connected?" asked Morgan.
JJ pulled up a picture that showed tire tracks.
"Well, for one thing, they were both backed over after the initial impact," said JJ.
"No accident there," said Rossi.
"They matched treads at both scenes. Large wheels, all-terrain," said Hotch.
"Wounds also indicate a raised bumper, so they're thinking large SUV or truck," said JJ.
Spencer looked at JJ.
"Do they know the model or make?" asked Spencer.
"Uh, tires aren't factory issued. They could be on a number of different models," said JJ.
"No witnesses to either incident?" asked Emily.
JJ shook her head.
"A hit-and-run is loud, draws attention. Somebody usually sees something," said Rossi.
"Both victims were attacked in secluded areas," said JJ.
"Two tons of metal make a hell of a weapon," said Morgan.
"Serial killers have been known to become rather attached to their vehicles. Bittaker and Norris even gave theirs a nickname," said Spencer.
Rossi looked up from the file that he was reading.
"Murder Mac," said Rossi.
"Bittaker and Norris were sexual sadists. There's no sign of torture here," said Hotch.
"It sounds like thrill kills. Opportunistic," said Emily.
Rossi took a breath.
"Easy targets randomly selected," said Rossi.
Morgan looked at the picture that he was looking at.
"With this type of impact, the vehicle shouldn't be hard to pick out of a lineup," said Morgan.
"Yeah, there should be significant front-end damage," said Spencer.
"Somehow I don't think it's gonna be that easy," said Rossi.
Hotch looked at his team.
"Since we have a long flight to Oregon, we'll all be sleeping in our own beds tonight before we leave at 8 AM in tomorrow morning so we can hit the ground running. So everyone should head home and get a good night's sleep," said Hotch.
Over two hours later Spencer looked at Maeve as they cuddled on the couch.
"I'm leaving for Bend, Oregon tomorrow morning. So there's a chance that the plans we made for this weekend might be canceled," said Spencer.
"Its OK," said Maeve before she groaned when she felt Gabriella kick, "I'm not looking forward to you being more active next week, Gabby," said Maeve.
Spencer rubbed his wife's belly and felt a kick.
"Its like she knows when I'm touching your belly," said Spencer just as he felt a kick again.
"Seems like she likes your voice just like Josie," said Maeve before yawning, "We should get some sleep," said Maeve.
A few minutes later Spencer and Maeve were in their bedroom getting ready for bed.
The next morning Emily looked at one of the crime scene photos.
"Well, I think it's safe to assume our unsub is male," said Emily.
"I agree with you, given what we know about aggressive driving and road rage," said Hotch.
"And the fact that men have an unnatural bond with their cars," said Emily.
"That is true," said JJ.
"Wait a minute. I don't know about unnatural," said Morgan.
JJ looked at Morgan.
"I once dated a guy who washed his car more than he washed his hair," said JJ.
"A nice car needs love," said Rossi.
JJ and Emily both glared at Rossi.
"And a woman doesn't?" asked JJ.
"I'm not qualified to answer that," said Rossi.
Everyone laughed.
"I'm just saying, big car-it's phallic," said Emily.
"So he's compensating?" asked Hotch.
Spencer looked at Hotch.
"Or overcompensating," said Spencer.
"Impotent?" asked Morgan.
"Possibly. If the unsub sees himself as physically defective, the car not only gives him the power and control he otherwise lacks, but it also serves as a shield," said Spencer.
Hotch looked at Spencer and thought about how Spencer could be about physical contact.
"A way to avoid physical contact?" asked Hotch.
"Power and control, female victims- that almost reads like a rape profile," said Emily.
"Vehicular rape," said Rossi.
"Rape and thrill kill are two very different profiles," said Morgan.
"What does the victimology tell us?" asked Hotch
"Nothing yet. Shannon Makely was a white, married, 43-year-old commodities trader, Maria Delgado was a 23-year-old Hispanic grad student, competitive tri-athlete," said JJ.
"So far, gender's our only link. Hopefully, the crime scenes will tell us more," said Hotch before he gave assignments.
JJ looked at Spencer.
"Since you own a classic car, are you going to say that taking care of a car is more important than showing women love?" asked JJ.
"Not at all because my mom raised me to treat women with respect," said Spencer before looking at Morgan and Rossi, "If Maeve was on this jet and heard what you two said, I wouldn't have saved you two from her pregnancy hormones," said Spencer.
Hotch, Emily, and JJ laughed.
"Maeve's hormones getting worse?" asked JJ.
"She's starting the third trimester next week, and other than giving her massages to help ease the pain that carrying Gabriella's giving her, I'll really be spoiling Maeve on the 10th," said Spencer.
"Why May 10th?" asked Morgan.
"Its Mother's Day that day, and I already pre-ordered flowers and sent a card that's been signed by Maeve and me while including Josie's hand-print to Bennington that will be given to my mom on Mother's Day," said Spencer.
"He may have specifically targeted these women," said Hotch.
"That takes thrill kill off the table," said Rossi.
"Because the murders were planned in advance?" asked Detective Quinn.
Spencer turned around from the geographical profile he was doing.
"Yeah. This type of stalking behavior indicates a personal motive. There's a reason he chose these victims," said Spencer.
"So you think he knows them?" asked Detective Quinn.
"Well, he knew their work schedules, jogging routes, drive patterns," said Hotch.
"That would explain how he knew where to strike," said Spencer.
"It explains the Delgado girl. She was on a run. But he couldn't have known Shannon Makely's car was gonna break down out there," said Detective Quinn.
Rossi looked at Detective Quinn.
"Did you look at her car?" asked Rossi.
"Guys at impound said the water pump blew. They said it's a common enough problem," said Detective Quinn.
"Maybe we should take a closer look," said Rossi.
"Why don't you head over there, let me know what you find out," said Hotch.
Rossi got up and walked away while Emily approached them.
"Shannon Makely's husband is here," said Emily.
The next day Spencer was looking through a file when Hotch came over.
"How's it going?" asked Hotch.
"Well, we're down to an older model, black, American made. Sounds like he debadged the truck so nobody could ID him," said Morgan.
"I can start a list from DMV matching what we've got," said Detective Quinn.
"A list like that's gonna kill a lot of trees," said Morgan.
"He's right. The truck's only gonna get us so far. What we need to do is build on the profile," said Hotch.
"Well, he's mechanically inclined. He certainly knows his way around an engine block," said Spencer.
"And he can pull a dent, too, if he's fixing the body damage to his truck," said Emily.
"Both victims were killed during prime office hours. It means he has a flexible work schedule," said Hotch.
"Or he might not be working at all. Stalking someone, getting to know their schedule, it's a pretty serious time commitment," said Spencer.
Detective Quinn nodded.
"8% of the state's out of work," said Detective Quinn.
"And job loss is a classic stressor," said Morgan.
"It's a start. Look for men who are employed as mechanics, body shops, And look for those with criminal records- Reckless driving and assault," said Hotch.
Detective Quinn nodded before he walked away.
"Two murders in two weeks? It's not much of a cooling-off period," said Emily.
"He's not gonna wait for another opportunity to present itself," said Hotch.
"Now he'll create one," said Spencer.
Detective Quinn looked at Spencer, Emily, and Rossi as they looked at the body of the latest victim in a parking garage.
"Impact nearly cut him in two. His name is Victor Costella, podiatrist. He works in the building," said Detective Quinn.
"Male victim," said Emily.
"So much for the vehicular rape theory," said Spencer.
"He ran down from the level above to try to get away," said Detective Quinn.
"Initial collision was up there?" asked Rossi as he pointed to the level above them.
Detective Quinn nodded.
"Let's see it," said Rossi.
A few minutes later Spencer was watching a CSI officer dust for prints on a red car as the wheels in his brain started to turn.
"This is the victim's car?" asked Spencer.
"Yeah. Why?" asked Detective Quinn.
Spencer pulled out his phone.
"Uh, excuse me for a second," said Spencer as he walked away while dialing Garcia, "Garcia, I need you to look into something," said Spencer.
A few minutes later Spencer approached Emily, Rossi, Detective Quinn, and Officer Feder.
"Guys, I think I know what connects the victims," said Spencer.
A short while later Spencer was pointing at the pictures of the cars that the victims drove.
"All of the victims drove red 2-door coupes," said Spencer.
"Don't you think that could be a coincidence?" asked Detective Quinn.
"It's statistically significant," said Spencer.
"We haven't been able to find any other common denominators," said JJ.
"If the unsub is targeting people because of their cars, then his initial contact with them would have been on the road," said Hotch.
"Exactly," said Spencer.
"I spoke to the families about the victims' daily car travel, how they got to work, the gym," said JJ.
Spencer looked at Detective Quinn.
"There's one road all the victims have in common," said Spencer.
Detective Quinn looked at the geographical profile.
"Route 7," said Detective Quinn grimly.
"That mean something to you?" asked Hotch.
"Maybe we should take a drive," said Detective Quinn.
Hotch looked at Spencer.
"How about you come with so you can take some time to check on Maeve and Jocelyn," said Hotch.
"Maeve and Jocelyn?" asked Detective Quinn.
Spencer, Hotch, and Detective Quinn started to head to an SUV.
"Maeve's my wife who also just about to start the third trimester of her second pregnancy and Jocelyn is my nearly nine-month-old daughter," said Spencer as he showed the detective a picture of him with his wife and daughter.
"Your daughter looks just like you, and do you know what you and your wife are having for baby number two?" asked Detective Quinn.
"Another little girl," smiled Spencer.
"You must be excited about ending up with two little girls," said Detective Quinn.
"I am, and I'm hoping that Gabriella looks like her mother," said Spencer.
A few minutes later Spencer had Maeve on the phone.
"Are you coming home?" asked Maeve.
"Not yet, but I have some time to check on you and Josie since the detective decided to take Hotch and me for a ride," said Spencer.
"Josie is sleeping in her playpen, so put your phone on speaker so I can say hi to Aaron," said Maeve.
"OK," said Spencer as he put his phone on speaker.
"Hi, Aaron," said Maeve.
"How are you feeling, Maeve?" asked Hotch.
"I'm at least glad that next week I will be starting the third trimester, but it doesn't help that Gabriella gets active when she hears Spencer's voice," said Maeve before she spoke again, "Daddy's on the phone, Josie," said Maeve.
Spencer's face broke into a huge grin when he heard Jocelyn babbling.
"Is my little Josie Posie saying hi to me?" asked Spencer.
"Hi, Dada," said Josie.
"I miss you Josie, and can you say hi to your uncle Aaron?" asked Spencer.
"Hi," said Josie.
Spencer noticed Hotch smiled a little bit.
"Hello, Jocelyn," said Hotch.
Jocelyn instantly started babbling causing Hotch to shake his head.
"Are you practicing on telling me facts and statistics like her daddy?" asked Hotch.
"Ya," said Jocelyn before whimpering.
"Jocelyn just signed to me that she needs a diaper change, so you guys stay safe," said Maeve.
"I love you girls," said Spencer.
"Love you too," said Maeve before hanging up.
A few seconds later Detective Quinn looked at Spencer.
"Your daughter's not even nine-months-old and she's already saying words like hi, Dada, food, and knows baby sign language?" asked Detective Quinn.
"I'm a genius who married a fellow genius, so my wife and I are curious about how our daughters and any other children we have will turn out," said Spencer.
A short while later Spencer and Hotch looked over the ledge on the highway that Detective Quinn was showing them.
"Anyone living outside Bend who commutes toward Eugene uses route 7. It's the most dangerous stretch of highway in the state. They call it "suicide 7"," said Detective Quinn.
Spencer noticed a few crosses.
"These crosses represent accidents?" asked Spencer.
"Fatalities. The fire chief put them up to remind drivers to be careful," said Detective Quinn.
Spencer looked at the road.
"Two lanes, no dividers. I'm assuming there's a lot of head-on collisions," said Spencer.
"Either that or they go off the side," said Detective Quinn.
Hotch looked at Spencer.
"Reid, you mentioned the possibility of a physical limitation, something that kept the unsub from attacking in the traditional way," said Hotch.
"Yeah, I was thinking about impotence, but we've ruled out sexual motivation," said Spencer.
"What if he'd been involved in a crash?" asked Hotch.
Spencer looked at the road.
"On this road. If the unsub is disabled, it explains why he uses a truck. It gives him power, mobility," said Spencer.
"But what?" asked Hotch.
"The idea that he's avenging his own physical suffering speaks to a victim mentality that's inconsistent with the profile," said Spencer.
"Maybe it's not just about his own suffering," said Hotch.
The next morning Spencer stood near Hotch as they gave the profile.
"As we speak, this profile and a description of the unsub's truck are being released to state and national media," said Hotch.
"In addition to what we already know, we believe the unsub is ex-military, most likely army or marines," said Spencer.
"We also believe he's physically handicapped," said Emily.
"From combat?" asked Officer Feder.
"From an automobile accident," answered Hotch.
"An accident that may have occurred along Route 7, where the unsub finds his victims," said Emily.
"And that has something to do with why he's going after red Coupes?" asked Detective Quinn.
"We believe that he holds the driver of a comparable vehicle responsible for his accident," said Spencer.
"And this person is the object of his rage, but unable to confront them, He's taking revenge against a surrogate," said Hotch.
Emily pointed at a few boxes.
"These boxes contain accident reports from a strip of Route 7 between Bend and Eugene. There's about 5 years' worth. We're gonna need everyone you can spare to comb through them," said Emily.
Spencer pointed at a nearby whiteboard.
"We've also compiled a list of local rehabilitation facilities where the unsub may have gone to recover. Use the profile as you canvass these places," said Spencer.
"Remember, we're looking for a white male in his early 40s, former military…," said Hotch before he finished giving the profile.
Spencer crossed out a list of a rehab facility as he got off the phone.
"How's Dave doing?" asked Hotch.
"A few more possibles," said Spencer as he torn the paper he was writing off of his notepad.
"I'll take them," said Detective Quinn as he took the piece of paper.
JJ walked over.
"Hotch. Just got a walk-in. His name's Gil Bonner," said JJ.
Hotch noticed a man in the doorway.
"What's his story?" asked Hotch.
"It's about the unsub's accident. He says it's his fault," said JJ.
A minute later Spencer, JJ, and Hotch were sitting in an office with Gil who was telling them his story.
"It was late, and I'd spent all day in Eugene with my mom. She'd been sick. I shouldn't have been driving. But I just wanted to get home to see my little girl. It was darker than usual. I remember the moon was just a sliver. Right outside the Cascades, my phone started vibrating. And when I went to reach for it, I knocked it off the far side of the seat, and it fell down by the door, and I thought I could reach," said Gil.
"And you took your eyes off the road?" asked JJ gently.
"If couldn't have been for more than a few seconds. But when I looked back up, there were lights and this horn was blaring. And I swerved at the last second, and then I just... kept on going... Without a scratch," said Gil.
"You'd gone into the oncoming lane?" asked Hotch.
Gill nodded.
"What happened to the other vehicle?" asked Spencer gently.
"Well, that's the thing. It was in rear-view mirror and then it was gone. It vanished," said Gil.
"Why didn't you stop?" asked Hotch.
"It didn't seem real," said Gil.
"You're saying you just pretended it didn't happen?" asked JJ.
"I guess if you tell yourself something for long enough... You can make anything true," said Gil.
"Well, you're here now. Tell us about the other vehicle," said Hotch.
"It was the truck you're looking for," answered Gil.
"How do you know that?" asked
"When I saw the news... It all made sense. It's come back for revenge," said Gil.
"When did the accident occur?" asked JJ.
"December '07. The second Saturday," answered Gil.
Spencer looked at the reports that were on his lap.
"There are no accidents reported in December of 2007," said Spencer.
"No. That's... No," said Gil.
"Maybe you have your dates wrong?" asked Hotch.
"It could have been November," said Gil.
"Uh, memories are kind of like puzzle pieces, and it's- It's quite possible that in suppressing these for so long, you've sort of rearranged things," said Spencer.
Gil took a few breaths.
"How long was your mother sick?" asked Hotch.
"5 months. She... She died in January. That much I know," said Gil before looking at Spencer, Hotch, and JJ, "Do any of you guys have kids?" asked Gil.
"I have a three-year-old son," said Hotch.
"I have a nearly six-month-old son," said JJ.
"I have a nearly nine-month-old daughter, and in about 12 weeks I'll be holding my second child which will be another little girl," said Spencer.
"Do you dote on your daughter?" asked Gil.
"I do since Jocelyn's been a daddy's girl since the first time I held her, but I don't know if Gabriella will either be a daddy's girl or a mama's girl," said Spencer.
Spencer walked towards his teammates as he read out loud from a file.
"September 28, 2007, Ian and Sheila Oakley crashed while driving home from Napa Valley going eastbound on Route 7 around midnight. It appeared their car was run off the road, flipped numerous times, no witnesses," said Spencer as he gave the file to Hotch.
"His wife was riding in the passenger seat. She died at the scene," said Rossi.
"Coakley survived. Paramedics indicated spinal cord injury," said Hotch.
"Morgan said he fractured his t6 and t7 vertebrae," said Rossi.
"He's paraplegic," said Hotch.
"That's not all. He's a former light-wheel mechanic in the Army National Guard," said Spencer.
"Does it say anything about a red car?" asked Detective Quinn.
"No. It says Coakley suffered memory loss after the accident," said Hotch.
Spencer looked up from the file that he was reading.
"Short-term retrograde amnesia is common after a serious accident," said Spencer.
"I think it's safe to say he remembers now," said Rossi.
"Do we have an address?" asked Hotch.
"Yeah, Garcia's working on that now," said Spencer as he put his phone on speaker for Garcia.
"OK. The house Coakley and his wife bought was foreclosed on 10 months after his accident," said Garcia.
"Well, there's gotta be a paper trail, then," said Spencer.
"Yeah, and that trail leads to a land called nowhere. Cashed some insurance checks during a stay at Edelman House, but after he left, zilch," said Garcia.
"Any relatives he could be staying with?" asked Hotch.
"No. I tried that. There's no family in the area. My exquisitely educated guess is he's either squatting or subletting with cash," said Garcia.
"What about his truck?" asked Rossi.
"He owns a '79 dodge d100. He bought it used 10 years ago," said Garcia.
"He's had to rebuild it several times now. Parts can't be easy to find for a truck that old," said Rossi.
Garcia started typing.
"I smell what you're cooking, agent. Checking auto suppliers in Bend. Yeah, Rossi gets a fruit cup with lunch. He's having the parts drop-shipped through Syd's auto and sent directly to an address in Southwest Bend," said Garcia.
Spencer sighed in relief when he saw Hotch and Detective Quinn enter the room before Hotch noticed Spencer staring at his bandaged forehead.
"I'm going to be OK, Reid," said Hotch.
Detective Quinn handed Spencer and JJ each a bag.
"When you two told me that you each have babies at home, I insisted on getting your babies each a gift as a way to thank you for your help," said Detective Quinn.
Spencer opened up the bag and shook his head when he saw two bibs that said OREGON.
"You didn't have to do this," said Spencer.
"My wife insisted on getting bibs since they last longer than onesies," said Detective Quinn.
"They will, so thank you," said Spencer.
"Thank you," said JJ.
Seven hours later Spencer walked into Jocelyn's nursery and smiled as he watched Jocelyn asleep in her crib.
"Daddy missed you while I was away," said Spencer gently as he stroked Jocelyn's growing curls.
Jocelyn opened her eyes and smiled when she saw her daddy.
"Dada," said Jocelyn.
"Daddy's home, Josie," said Spencer as he lifted his daughter out of her crib and felt her diaper, "Someone needs a diaper change," said Spencer as he spoke in a funny voice.
Jocelyn giggled at her daddy as her daddy started to change her diaper, and a minute later Spencer was sitting in the rocking chair that was in Jocelyn's nursery just as Maeve approached the open doorway.
"I missed you too," said Maeve as she walked towards her husband and kissed him.
"I missed all three of my girls," said Spencer as he rubbed Maeve's 28-week pregnant belly, "At least I made it back in time for your doctor appointment on Monday," said Spencer.
The next day Dr. Marks looked at Spencer and Maeve as she finished Maeve's 28th-week exam.
"So how has the past month been for you guys?" asked Dr. Marks.
"Three weeks ago I found out that I have a 14-old half-sister that my father never told me about," said Spencer as he ended up showing Dr. Marks a picture of him, Maeve, Stephanie, and Jocelyn.
Dr. Marks smiled as she saw the smiling nine-month-old baby girl on her aunt's lap.
"Seems like Jocelyn adores her aunt," said Dr. Marks.
"She does, and luckily Josie and Gabriella will get to spend the next four years getting to know their aunt since Stephanie will be moving in with us before Gabriella's due date," said Spencer.
"Why?" asked Dr. Marks.
"Stephanie hasn't seen my father since she was four since her mother was furious at my father for leaving me the way he did, and her mother is dying from an inoperable brain tumor. So my ex-stepmother is granting us custody Stephanie," said Spencer.
"When is Stephanie moving in?" asked Dr. Marks.
"She'll be moving in before Gabriella's due date, so we're busy turning the guest bedroom into a bedroom for Stephanie while turning the basement into a guest bedroom," said Spencer.
Dr. Marks looked at Maeve.
"I hope you're taking it easy when it comes to preparing for your sister-in-law to move in with you guys," said Dr. Marks.
"I've been forbidden to help out with the process of painting Stephanie's bedroom, but I've been washing and hanging the clothing that Stephanie has already shipped to us," said Maeve.
Dr. Marks looked at the clock before looking at Maeve.
"Since you're now in the third trimester, I'll be seeing you biweekly until you reach 36-weeks pregnant where I'll be seeing you on a weekly basis," said Dr. Marks.
"Yes, ma'am," said Maeve.
Dr. Marks looked at Spencer.
"Hopefully I'll see you at your wife's bi-weekly appointments," said Dr. Marks.
"Me too," said Spencer as he didn't even realize that the next one of his upcoming cases would cause him to be off of work until a month after Gabriella's born.
A/N: Here's a heads up that Amplification will be in two parts because I can't forget Mother's Day.