The Boogeyman- 2:6
Harita's POV
That's it. She just… left. She resigned her spot as an FBI, BAU Member. Just because she shot a suspect in 'self defense' does not mean she could leave. I don't blame her, she hasn't been the same since the Fisher King. I don't think anyone would have been if you were shot and someone reached into your wound and touched it. But why, Elle. Why did this impact us more than it should have? Funny thing is that I made sure everyone was okay, and helped them if they weren't. I even helped Gideon, who wasn't so close to Elle. The funny part is that I didn't think about myself until today. I didn't check in with myself, and it was affecting me with a lot of questions. Why do you have to affect me? I told you that everyone I love eventually leaves me, and why do I now have to add you on the list?
We were on the jet, Gideon, Morgan, JJ, Reid, and I. Hotch had to stay behind and finish up the papers for Elle's evaluation.
Flashback
"Nicholas Faye of Ozona, Texas, was beaten to death roughly 13 hours ago. Blunt force trauma to the head, he's the second young boy in Ozona to die the same death in the last 2 months. Local hunter found his body in the woods. First victim's name: Robbie Davis." JJ explained.
"Are these boys connected somehow?" I asked.
"Ozona's population's roughly 2,500. Everyone has some kind of connection." JJ replied.
"Well if they weren't linked before, they most certainly are now." Morgan mumbled.
"Both murdered by the same offender." Spencer added.
"He's hunting children." Gideon concluded.
End of Flashback
…
*CUE INTRO*
(For one of the 'pictures' in the intro, imagine Harita fidgeting with a pen, looking at a map with her left eyebrow raised.)
…
"Plato wrote, 'We can easily forgive a child who's afraid of the dark. The real tragedy of life, is when men are afraid of the light.'"- SSA Aaron Hotchner
…
"Ozona Police and autopsy report for Nicholas Faye and Robbie Davis." JJ handed us papers.
"Well the bludgeoning could suggest frustration or rage." I said, monotone.
"With no apparent sexual motivation." Reid added. That's rare when the victims are this young."
"This Unsub seems to be taking pleasure from the kill itself." Gideon identified.
"So if it's not sexual, what's the significance of targeting young males?" Morgan questioned.
"Most serial killers pray upon specific types to carry out their fantasies of revenge. Bundy killed women that looked like an ex-girlfriend who jolted him, Dahmer claimed that schoolyard harassment fed into his fury." Spencer recalled.
"Ok, so then maybe these kids represent someone who victimized the offender." Morgan suggested.
"Like a young male from his past, maybe a bully, older brother, someone who abused them." I listed.
"No, that's unlikely." JJ debunked. "They just found another body. 11 year old girl."
"What would the victimology just suddenly change?" Spencer exclaimed.
"Maybe the girl wasn't the target, maybe she just got in the way." Morgan guessed.
"Or the sex of his victim is insignificant. Pace his killings certainly indicates a velocity of change." Gideon observed.
"We can't surveil every kid in Ozona, how do we just keep them all safe?" JJ asked, concerned.
"Enforce a curfew?" Spencer suggested.
"Children shouldn't have to worry about something like that." Morgan shook his head.
"Tell me about it. The woods were the only thing I was afraid of when I was a kid." JJ professed.
"Seriously? I thought you grew up in a small town?" Morgan questioned.
"Yeah, surrounded by woods!" JJ exclaimed.
"Yeah, bummer for you!" Morgan pitied. "The only thing I was afraid of was the dark."
"Some of us still are." Reid mumbled.
"Well I wasn't afraid of anything." I lied.
"Okay, that can't be true." Morgan said, shocked.
"But it is." I smiled. Truth is, I was afraid of one thing, and I still am to this day.
"When we land, Morgan and Reid, go to the new crime scene, the little girl. Harita and I will look at the scene where Nicholas Faye was found."
…
"This is where he dumped the body." The chief pointed to the ground.
"This isn't a dump site. Murder happened right here." Gideon corrected.
"The autopsy report indicates no signs of a struggle." I recalled.
"Poor little guy never had a chance. So far into these woods, no one could hear him scream." The sheriff solemnly said.
"Exactly how the killer wanted it." I pointed out.
"For the last two months, we've lost more children in this town we have in my whole lifetime. The others are car accidents. Residents are terrified. I have an 8 year old myself." The sheriff exposed.
"Victims knew their killer." Gideon profiled.
"Followed them to this spot, since they probably trusted them." I added.
"What makes you think that?" The sheriff asked.
"Would you walk with a stranger this deep into the woods?" I asked. The sheriff shook his head.
"Probably stashed his weapon here beforehand. This means we're looking for someone intelligent, methodical." Gideon continued.
"Methodical?" The sheriff queried. "Bashed the kid's head in, looks like a moment of rage to me.
"I agree. It's confusing. Doesn't make sense." Gideon admitted.
…
We gave the mandatory curfew rules to the children and parents, and we got back to the station to deliver the profile.
"Can I have your attention, please? Good afternoon. We want to make something clear. Due to the velocity of change, we predict this offender could try to strike again anytime." GIdeon started.
"Their confidence builds with every attack. Look for someone physically fit, shy, kind disposition, someone you may trust with your own child." I profiled.
"Because the killer targets kids, he may be small himself. I know we keep referring to this Unsub as 'he' or 'they', but do not rule out a woman." Morgan warned.
"Excuse me!" A woman yelled as she walked into the station. She had a little son, and she was pregnant. "My son Matthew never came home today."
"Here we go." Morgan muttered.
"Where was he last seen?" Gideon questioned.
"His teacher saw him in the parking lot after school." Morgan pulled Reid and I aside.
"Okay children, school is on Willow Road." Morgan pointed it onto a map.
"If the boy was abducted. This area would be the most secluded nearby." Reid observed.
"So Jones, the chief, could route his guys to the gas station, we could cover territories." I suggested. I looked over to Morgan, who nodded.
"Let's get some backup on Willow Road, and we should be good to go." I turned around and something caught my ear; "It's Fennigan's old guy who is in the house. Forever kind of a local legend. Ghost story."
"About?" I asked.
"He supposably watches the kids from his window, Hunts them, skins them, and eats them. Standard. Folks have been telling that story since I was a kid." The chief explained.
"Why haven't we heard about that?" Morgan asked. "Fables are often sparked by an ounce of truth. We should exhaust every possibility."
…
"Sure looks like a haunted house, one that I would love to go into as a kid." I said, once I got out of the car. We arrived at Mr. Fennigan's place.
"Morgan and Harita, take Jones with you to the front, Reid and I'll cover the outbuildings. Come on." Gideon ordered, as I moved with Morgan and Jones. We went to the front and saw that the door was already opened. Jones yelled his name. No response, so we went in. I searched every room, even upstairs, but there was no sign of him. I tried flipping a light switch, but there was no light.
"Electricity's out!" I yelled.
"Maybe he's been away." Jones suggested.
"No, this paper was delivered today." Morgan held up today's newspaper.
"So Fennigan was here earlier." I concluded.
"Yeah, the question is, where is he now?" Morgan asked. I separated from the group, and went upstairs, to see if there was anything that led to Matthew.
…
"Hey, you okay?" Morgana asked, as he walked into the room I was in. He sat on the bed, and faced me.
"Yeah, I'm fine, why're you asking?"
"I realized that no one has checked up on you since Elle left. You checked up on all of us, making sure we were okay. And if we weren't or lied that we were okay, you would stay with us until we felt better. But no one has done that to you. How are you feeling."
"Part of me is still waiting for Elle to come back."
"You know, she's not coming back. She's gone." Morgan said, firm but calm.
"I know, alright. But I just can't have another person just walk away from me." I walked out of the room, leaving Morgan behind thinking about what I said.
…
"That's interesting. The Unsub didn't use a gun." Reid announces. We were down stairs, still looking through his stuff.
"Bet he knows every trail in Ozona. Fennigan's an avid hunter. Why didn't he use…" Gideon stopped talking.
"What is it Gideon?" I asked. I stood behind him and saw that there was a box of kids stuff. Gideon took the items out. There was a lunch bag that belonged to Robbie Davis, the first victim and a backpack with Sarah Peterson's name on it.
"I guess Fennigan brought the kids back here first before baiting them into the woods. But why wouldn't he get rid of the evidence?" Morgan questioned.
"He considers them trophies." Reid answered.
"When this is all said and done, I'd like to hang his head on my wall." Morgan stated.
"They found Fennigan." The sheriff announced.
...
"We found him in the ground, buried under some leaves. At first blush, it looks like Joseph Fennigan died of natural causes. Those coyotes were on and on for all week." An officer explained once we got to the scene.
"Before the second and third murders ever happened." I added.
"This area's off a traveled path, it's a wonder anyone discovered him at all." Spencer exclaimed.
"Is it? Those leaves didn't cover him up by themselves." The officer left.
"He's right. The deputy may not have been the first that found him." Morgan said.
"And our only suspect's been cleared." Spencer added.
"Square one?" I asked Gideon, who shook his head.
"No. Fennigan's been dead all this time, who's living in his house?" Gideon asked.
...
We went back to Fennigan's house, and to say, Spencer was… thinking. I mean, I'm not saying I wasn't too.
"Here's a question: if a tree falls in the forest, does it make a sound if there's nobody there to hear it?" Spencer queried.
"Well, yeah, it makes a sound. There is just no one to record it." I replied.
"What the hell are you two reading over there?" Morgan asked.
"Just thinking." Spencer and I both quickly responded.
"The Unsub found Fennigan's corpse in a lightly traveled part of the woods and no one else knew. So he was able to use his house and no one was the wizer." Morgan observed.
"Actually I was referring to Fennigan's wife." Spencer corrected.
"What are you talking about?" Morgan questioned.
"She was rumoured missing, perhaps killed almost 50 years ago. When in actuality she left Fennigan for another man." I read from his journal. "He writes about it in his journals. How he would look out the window on a daily basis to see if she would come home, she never did. Now that is some depressing shit."
"He never recovered, he ended up turning into a recluse that people in town misunderstood." Spencer added as Gideon walked into the room.
"Found something." I got up and followed him to the kitchen. "Provisions. Delivered by the church to every elder's doorstep. Each one dated after Fennigan died." Gidoen pointed to the almost empty boxes.
"So the Unsub ate everything." Morgan observed.
"Almost everything. Unopened bowls of cream spinach thrown into the trash. Each one wrapped with duct tape." Gideon debunked.
"I don't blame them." I muttered.
"One with each tray." Spencer observed.
"So we're looking for a guy who really really hates spinach." Morgan clarified.
"Who doesn't?" Spencer asked.
"Ok, spinach leaves are bom, but creamed spinach is disgusting." I gagged.
"Ritualized, meticulous, organized." Gideon profiled.
"He would eat with the same particulars." Spencer added.
"Full prints, have Garcia run them for a match." Morgan left to make that phone call.
…
"Why the woods, JJ." Morgan asked. We were back at the station. JJ, Spencer, Morgan, and I were sitting on couches, having coffee.
"Hmm?" JJ asked.
"Your fear. You said it was of the woods."
"I used to be a camp counselor, when I was a teenager. In the woods up in Vermont, at the night shift, tucked the girls in, turned off the lights. The typical drill. Everything seemed fine, all the kids were asleep. You know, nothing seemed out of the ordinary. Until... I noticed there was some blood, on the hallway floor. So I... followed the blood trail out to the camp director's cabin, walked up to his bed and... he was just lying there, underneath his covers. Dead. Someone stabbed him. I ran out of there so fast, out the door, down the hall, I just remember it, being really dark. Once I got to the door, there was another counselor there, I guess she heard me scream. They caught the caretaker on his way to town, I guess he still had the knife on him. Anyway, I guess that's probably when I decided I didn't like the woods." I raised my eyebrows, and the three of us looked at each other in shock.
"You're serious?" Morgan asked.
"No! No!" I let out a sigh of relief. "Come on. I don't know why I'm afraid of the woods, I just I am, why is he still afraid of the dark?"
"Yeah Reid, why are you still afraid of the dark?" I added.
"Because of the inherent absence of light! And don't make this about me, ask why Harita wasn't afraid of anything when she was little." Reid exclaimed..
"I told you, I just am."
"Really?" JJ said, as I nodded.
"Not clowns, ghosts, spiders, snakes?" Morgan questioned.
"I loved clowns, I found spiders and snakes fascinating, I even wanted one as a pet but couldn't because my mum was afraid of them, and ghosts were my only friends. How many times do I need to tell you, I'm not afraid of anything." I lied again, but hid it with my laugh. Everyone else joined me. "You know JJ, that was pretty good, just know that paybacks are a bitch."
"I'm shaking." JJ sarcastically said. Morgan's phone rang, and left to take it.
"Call Gideon, we just found our Unsub." Morgan said.
…
"Sure about this? Charles?" The chief asked as he met us up in front of Charles' house.
"Born and raised in Ozona, knows the territory, works with children." Spencer stated.
"Highly organized, slight in stature, injected himself into the investigation." Morgan added.
"Anything happened the last six months that would have changed his life?" I questioned.
"His wife walked out on him and his kid." The chief responded.
"There's your stressor." Morgan added.
"Guys, he's on the move." JJ warned. I walked over to the ledge, and saw Mr. Charles leaving. He was holding a bag in his hand.
"Mr. Charles!" Morgan yelled behind me. He noticed us and started running.
"God dammit, why do they all have to run away from us." I muttered as I sprinted after him. Gideon circled the house and stopped him from running away. James turned around, and was met with me, holding a gun pointing to his head.
"Drop the bag." I sternly said. He did as told, and I handcuffed him. Morgan opened the bag and pulled out a red baseball cap.
"What's so important about that hat?" I muttered into his ear as I tightened the handcuffs.
"Nicholas Faye was wearing it when he was murdered." Gideon responded.
...
Morgan went to interrogate James Charles. You know, that's a very… interesting name. Almost reminds me of someone. (wink wink)
"You know, it's bad enough his mother left and now his father's in custody and we've got to take the poor kid into child services." JJ mumbled.
"It's the law." Spencer responded.
"So is jaywalking. I don't like it." JJ sassed back. JJ left to call social services. When she came back, she had a distraught look on her face.
"What is it?" I asked. JJ left the room, and Spencer and I went to follow her. She walked towards Gideon to deliver some sort of news.
"Jeffrey never was at school today. His father said he was sick." Gideon got up to go and call Morgan and tell him the news.
"Spencer, JJ, Harita, go and search their house." Gideon ordered.
...
"I think I just found something!" I yelled. JJ and Spencer met me near the refrigerator, which was wide open. "Earlier, Spencer found an EpiPen, right?" Spencer nodded. "There are dairy products that have been sealed with duct tape." I pointed to the inside of the fridge. Spencer left to tell Gideon.
"Guys, an 8 year old girl, Tracey Belle, has been reported missing. Last seen getting off her school bus on Fuller Road." Spencer announced. We ran to the car and drove to the stop.
...
"You know, after his mom left Jeffrey probably resented the fact that his dad spends more time at work with other kids than with his own." Morgan profiled.
"He took out that rage on any kid he viewed, as having what he didn't." I added.
"So Tracey's mom said the bus would have dropped her off here after school she was supposed to walk home with a neighbor." JJ announced.
"It's most likely when Jeffrey approached, but where did he take her?" Spencer questioned.
"Such heavy patrolling in this town. How did he manage to take a little without being seen?" JJ added on.
"Because we taught him. Nobody's gonna think anything of two kids walking together. The buddy system, remember? In the process of educating the public, we educated a killer." Morgan pointed out.
"When it's off season from baseball, where would a 12 year old kid hang out?" JJ queeried.
"A park." I pointed to the playground that was just in front of us. "Which is surrounded by woods."
"Let's go." Gideon ordered, as we all ran off in different directions looking for Tracey. I was sprinting as fast as I could, whistling past the trees. There was a nice, quiet breeze, and the sun was out, making it a perfect fall day in the middle of October. This would have been a nice run, if I wasn't chasing a 12 year old serial killer. I stopped running when I heard screams from a little girl. It was Tracey's. I turned left and ran towards the screams. I saw a boy, James Charles' son, Jeffrey. I saw Gideon about to tackle Jeffrey, so I ran to Tracey's direction. I pulled her away from Jeffrey, and into my arms.
"Are you okay?" I asked, and Tracey nodded.
…
We sent Jeffrey back to the station, and we were all in the jet. It was late at night, but I couldn't sleep. I wasn't the only one, Morgan couldn't either. I was knitting my blanket, which I started a year ago. It was pretty long, but it wasn't exact. Morgan was staring at me, and I needed to break the silence.
"I should have said something."
"What?" Morgan questioned.
"To Gideon or Hotch, or any of you guys. I talked to Elle that night, and I knew she wasn't right, but I should have told someone." I admitted.
"Harita. Listen to me." I put my blanket on my lap and looked up at Morgan. His face was filled with sympathy. "Do not do that to yourself. You were just trying to help a friend. You hear me? Don't go there kid. Elle made her own choice. That's on her." I nodded.
"Okay." He put his hand onto the table, and I grabbed it. He squeezed my hand, reassuring me that everything was okay.
Credits- daianotdaya
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