The case they have is an older woman. Mackenzie Waller was sixty-two years old with silver hair and brown eyes. Her pale skin was sallow by the time they saw her, and Spencer knew that if he touched her it'd be firmed in death. She was fit for her age, one might say overly so. Nothing about her job as a cashier at the local grocer's said that she did anything resembling athletic. Her death rocked the tiny town she lived in, and everyone was clamoring for answers.
The Bureau called for the BAU Alpha team because this was the eighth body on American soil in as many days. There was nothing connecting any of them. Their habits didn't intersect, their jobs and social circles were leagues away from each other and nothing about their physical appearances matched a type. Some were blonde, others hand back hair, brunette, or ginger. There were both men and women, all different ages, races, and body types…
The only thing that connected them was that each victim was missing an ear. Torn paper with the word TRAITOR scribbled on them were taped to the skin, covering what would otherwise be a gory mess. It wasn't just one side, either. There seemed to be no true pattern to which ear was missing and it was always the same word. There was no further evidence. Nothing under their nails or between their teeth, no proof that they fought but for their twisted, resigned expressions and missing ears.
"Are you alright?" Someone asked. Spencer's head jerked up and he turned around to find that the deputy sheriff had come back from almost a full day of talking to the press. They weren't getting anywhere, and this was their fifteenth day there. People were getting impatient.
"Fine, thank you." He mumbled.
"You looked like you were going to be sick. Want me to get your boss?"
No, he did not. Spencer wasn't technically supposed to be here. They were done for the day, and the rest of the team was at a local restaurant. Spencer had declined to join them and instead slipped into the coroner's office just as they were going home. He'd found the deputy staring at the victim like she was missing her own left arm.
"I'll get back to them. I just wanted to check something before I turned in for the night. How are you doing?"
The question rolled off Spencer's tongue easily enough, considering that the woman beside him looked as though she'd lost all her world.
"I… I'll be fine as long as we catch this bastard. Kenzie was an inspiration. A role model. She's held the same job for the past decade. Could do anything but she liked Paula's Place, I guess. She was like a town elder. Collected plenty of kids and turned them out just so. Made my job much easier. She's the one who championed the community center renovations. Said 'her house was getting too big to be hosting all these get-togethers.'" The deputy chuckled bitterly. "If anyone could embody the town, it was Kenzie."
"Do you know when she settled in here?"
"Thirty years ago. She came without anyone or anything but the clothes on her back. No one ever figured out where she came from. Or, at least I didn't."
"You said she took in kids. Was she foster licensed?"
"Not officially. If someone in town needed a place to stay for the night, she had an extra room or two. You guys searched the place the other day, you know what I'm talking about."
Spencer nodded.
"She liked to tell the wildest stories. Every kid knew the story of the week by heart. Always had something to do with these amazing people. One could look at a thing and know where it's been. One could walk through walls, another could travel the Internet in their head! I think her favorite character was a guy who was modeled after a lost partner or something. He was a master tactician. Could see the outcome of any choice someone made just by being close enough. She talked about him so fondly that everyone figured he was her husband who passed away. Or at least that's the theory."
"What was his name?"
"Didn't say. Everyone was named after animals and plants and myths. This guy was called Snow Leopard, can you believe that?"
Spencer froze at that. Snow Leopard is Layla's codename in Roadrunner. Everyone has one. Faulkner was Eagle when he went out in the field. Link is Impala. He had been Grey Wolf. He'd never understand why that codename in particular, but some of them were passed down. Recycled once someone went into retirement. Waller was old enough to be retired from regular work, let alone Roadrunner. Had she known someone from the program? Had she been part of it?
"Who else did she mention? Any plants and animals in particular?"
"Weasel was one. And Owl. Cheetah was rare, but it came up. Why, do you know something?"
Spencer shook his head.
"I think they're just stories." He said. "I was wondering if she used animals to name characters in the adventures she read about. People do that all the time when they write."
"Kenzie wasn't much of a writer, so maybe she picked that up from a friend of hers."
"Maybe." Spencer offered. "Why don't you come with me? My team is out to dinner and they like to talk."
"Sure. I guess I could be done for the night." The deputy exhaled roughly. "I… I don't know why, but I get the feeling that there was so much more to her than we all knew. What if we don't find who did this?"
"If you don't, then I will." Spencer informed her. "I need you to trust me on that."
"Hey Alex, the usual?" The hostess asked when Spencer walked into the restaurant.
"No thanks, I'm gonna sit with the Feds." The deputy, Alex, responded solemnly.
"Alright. They got plenty of room, so go right ahead."
"Thanks, Clarice." Alex nodded to the hostess as Spencer scanned the restaurant. The team was settled in a corner with no window, but a large painting of two women laughing over a humongous pizza was seen behind Hotch, who flicked his hand above his head and gestured for the pair of them to approach.
"Hey, Spence, who's your friend?"
"Deputy Marshals." Alex introduced herself smoothly. "Dr. Reid bumped into me at the coroner's office and said that dinner with you all might take my mind off things."
"Welcome, then. And we tend not to talk shop at dinner, so feel free to take a seat."
Alex did, settling in by Garcia while Spencer sat to Hotch's right.
"What do profilers talk about over dinner?" Alex wondered.
"Morgan was telling us about his vacation in Cancun and we're eating every time he mentions seeing a pretty girl. If it were shots we'd be drunk." Emily drawled. Spencer snorted. Morgan loved talking a good game, but he was a "look don't touch" kind of guy. He always made it obvious that he was joking.
"Hey, when's the last time anyone else talked about their love lives. Spence, how's that Layla girl you mentioned? She still around?"
Hotch's lips twitched and Alex snickered.
"Out of town." Spencer informed the group. "Should be back tomorrow, if she knows how to tell time at all."
"Busy woman?" JJ prompted knowingly. Spencer often spent the holidays at one of three places: Hotch and JJ had standing invitations for dinner any time, and Dr. Loka always welcomed him regardless of the time of day. That didn't change when Layla was in town, so Hotch and JJ had met Layla more than enough times to establish the truth from fiction.
"Work took her out of the country this time. She'll be knocked out by the time I get back to DC."
"How long have you known her?" Emily wondered.
"She saw me through the angsty teenager stage and apparently thought it was a good idea to stick around." Spencer deadpanned.
"Sounds familiar." Hotch coughed a laugh.
"I really can't imagine you having an angsty teenager stage, SSA Hotchner." Alex admitted as she dug into her freshly made pasta.
"Everyone has their thing." Spencer offered.
Alex stared at him and allowed her fork to clatter to her plate.
"You know something about Kenzie." She accused him evenly.
"I know what everyone else at this table knows about Ms. Waller."
"There's more to it. You just said it yourself, everyone has their thing. What if the stories she told weren't just stories?"
"Meaning…"
"What if she actually knew someone called Snow Leopard? What if Cheetah, Weasel, and Owl were nicknames. Don't you think we could find them?"
Hotch took over from there.
"Did she ever describe what they looked like or did she only use the names?" The unit chief demanded.
"She only used the names."
"What kind of stories did she tell?"
"Wacky stuff. Drug trades ruined by a kid riding a moose, ziplining through fire to find some lost treasure, some villains in a huge underground network… that one was a series. I don't remember them all, though. You might have better luck with the neighborhood kids."
"We'll talk to them tomorrow." Hotch assured Alex. "For now, let's just eat."
"What are the chances this has something to do with your college years?"
Hotch was perpetually unlucky enough to share a room with Spencer. On the surface, it was because Hotch snored like a bear and Spencer tended to talk in his sleep. Those things did happen, there's no denying that. One time, Spencer woke from a nightmare with an old friend's name on his tongue after thrashing about all night. Morgan had insisted that he'd never sleep in the same room as his genius friend ever again no Hotch you couldn't pay me! That was years ago, but it sort of ruined sharing a room with him for everyone else. Not that anyone else had tried. Just this once, Hotch was grateful for it.
Spencer didn't answer at first, scuttling around the room and knocking at the walls.
Hotch was confused but gave it a few minutes before he asked again.
"Okay, we're clear. Except for the part where the walls are paper-thin, but nobody around here gives a shit anyway."
"Seriously." Hotch snapped.
"They don't." Spencer grumbled. "Deputy Marshals might be onto something but if she is then whoever did this is long gone. We won't find them here. And that's if she's right, a pretty big if, considering nothing about Waller's life here showed any signs of being with Roadrunner."
"But this is bothering you." Hotch realized. "Because she could be right. You can't have been the first officer to forgo fieldwork."
"And I won't be the last. If I go poking around I'm not sure how welcome I would be, but the least I can do is see if Layla or Link have any ideas."
"You…" Hotch hesitated here. "You seemed edgy when she mentioned the codenames. Did you know people with those in particular?"
"Names get recycled. Whoever had it when Waller knew them likely doesn't now."
"Who do you know?" Hotch wondered.
"That's not mine to say." Spencer admitted. "But I really hope this is just a run-of-the-mill case."
The odds were slim, but it was nice to dream.
"You sure are grumpy today, Spence." JJ's voice yanked Spencer from his thoughts and he turned to find that the blonde had a concerned look on her face. "This case bothering you more than usual?"
"I'm fine." Spencer ground out.
One good thing about JJ is that she knew when not to push. Layla did too. Link never stopped trying to get under someone's skin or into their heads. He often had to be pushed out. Link thinks it's an extension of his power. He was always trying to get into or out of something. Including people.
"If you need anything-."
"I'm fine." Spencer insisted.
JJ was the last person he wanted to talk this over with. The people he needed to see weren't here.
"Okay." She said, and left.
Spencer must be throwing off danger vibes with how smolderingly furious he was. Maybe that would keep people away.
"Your flight is in an hour or so." Hotch's voice slammed into his ears and Spencer nodded, closing his eyes. "Are you going home?"
"Hopefully." Spencer scowled. "Why so many questions?"
"You found something different that could have been useful. We know that the killer has moved on, but your talk with Deputy Marshall might have put us on the right track. You should be proud."
"That is the exact opposite of what I need to be, SSA Hotchner. If those codenames are real then my time here is up."
"What makes you think that?"
"The last mission I went on, we were made before we even got through the door. Our enemies never found the man on the inside, but someone tipped them off that Layla and I weren't who we should have been. Link had to claw his way back into their good graces and even then, they went underground and the mission was put on hold, technically deemed successful. Now eight people turn up dead, branded, missing an ear and one of them might have slipped some things about her shady past to the people around her. The last thing this needs to be is something to do with Roadrunner."