SPENCER POV
The plane landed a few hours later and we were in the busy city of New York again. We split into groups to find our possible unsubs and hopefully find out a little more about the real one. Morgan and I walked quietly to James Davis home. He and one of our victims had been friends for two years and then suddenly two months ago could no longer stand the sight of each other.
He'd given a very emotional show after finding out about his friend's death but the odds of this being bad time was not likely. We walked up to the doorstep of the small apartment complex and knocked on the door.
"Yes sir?" A man around at latest his mid-twenties with dark hair and blue eyes opened the door. The smell of alcohol wrapped around us and several empty cases lay around the living room floor.
"I'm Agent Morgan; this is my partner, Dr. Reid. We'd like to know if we can ask you a few questions." Morgan stared him down for a moment before the he moved and allowed us to walk inside.
James sat on the stained dark blue couch that had several gashes in it and we sat across from him in the lawn chairs that were placed in front of the TV. He put his face in his hands and waited quietly.
"Melissa Lucas was a friend of yours for two years. Good friends from what we've heard. What caused the sudden change between the two of you?" Morgan asked and I looked around the walls. There were several pictures of Melissa and him together, as well as some of just her.
"Mel was my best friend. I'd just moved her and she was the first person to be kind to me. Two months ago she got a call from some guy. I asked her about him and she freaked out. She started screaming at me, saying that it was none of my business and then told me that she thought it would be better if we didn't see each other anymore."
As we took in this information, I looked to see his eyes were all serious and I could see the visible pain talking about this caused him. The anger showed as well. "Were you and Melissa romantically involved?" I asked and he didn't look surprised at the question.
"That would make me a prime suspect wouldn't it? She was like a sister to me. Yes, it made me angry but she was all I had."
I nodded and asked my next question. "Did she ever mention a name that you weren't familiar with or perhaps have a picture of someone you didn't recognize?"
He shook his head and ran a hand through his shaggy blonde hair. "She wanted to make sure it was a secret. We never kept secrets from each other. That was the first."
Morgan and I stood from our chairs as he put his head in his hands, a light sob escaping his throat. "We're sorry for your loss. If anything comes to mind, inform us immediately. We'll do what we can to find her murderer and put him away." Morgan assured him before we walked out the door.
We left the apartment quickly after that and made our way to the SUV. After getting in the vehicle I replayed his facial expressions, his emotions, and came to the conclusion that he was telling the truth.
"That's one less suspect." Morgan said and I thought back to the other possible unsubs. Marina Norris wasn't likely to be the killer. Unless she had help, the odds of someone her size causing the damage done to the victims was highly unlikely.
Morgan's phone went off a moment later and he put it on speaker. "Please tell me you had better luck than we did."
"Christopher Wyatt's profile came up clean. He'd been involved with the victim romantically and it had ended on him accusing her of cheating. He was angry but he moved on quickly. Left town after the break up and met someone in Florida." Hotch's voice came through and I could hear JJ shuffling through the file papers.
"Kid had a bad temper but she didn't mean much to him." she added after she stopped shuffling the papers.
"Which means we've overlooked our unsub." I stated and more papers being shuffled came through the line. "We'll have to look again."
"I'll call Garcia and see what she can find. Meet you at the diner." JJ said and they hung up shortly after.
Melissa Lucas had been whipped several times and starved before she'd died. The brands were made shortly after the victims had passed and the infinity sign had to have been home made. There was no need for anything to be branded around here and the unsub had to know these women and their schedules.
I reached for my phone and called Garcia to fill her in on the information. "What's up, buttercup?"
"The unsub is more than likely from out of town. Search for someone who just moved within a five mile radius of the victims and who has a history in farming or in welding. " I tried to think of anything else that may or may not be significant but came up empty handed.
"I'll call when I find something. PG out." I put the phone back in my pocket and sat back in the passenger seat as we headed to meet with the rest of the team at a local diner.
We pulled into the bar and walked over to where Hotch, JJ, and Rossi sat in the furthest booth back. I could see Garcia on the laptop in the middle of the table and had said something that earned her an amused look from Rossi and JJ while Hotch was clearly unamused.
As Morgan and I pulled up a chair to the booth two pictures popped on the laptop. Garcia cleared her throat before starting.
"Ok so there were two people who match the descriptions I got. Nathan Madden, the all-around good guy who has a history of helping out around town, volunteer work, loving family, and the occasional handy man. Next is Brayden Blackgrace: the exact opposite. Car theft, in and out of prison for threaten the wrong person, no family to be found, and a rather bad reputation with the ladies."
The waitress came over and handed us all a cup of black coffee and as we grabbed what we wanted from the packs of sugar and different creams we studied the pictures very closely.
"So we have the guy no one would suspect and the guy everyone would expect." Morgan stated and Garcia gave a smirk.
"Right you are, my friend." Hotch sat up from his chair and grabbed his wallet, leaving a ten dollar bill on the table.
"Garcia, send us the addresses. Rossi, go with Reid and JJ and Morgan to Nathan Madden's home and Morgan and I will head out to Brayden Blackgrace's home." He said and walked out the diner with Rossi following.
The rest of us put in a tip and walked out the door to the SUV. I took the backseat and we quickly headed to the address Garcia had given Morgan. We found a small house located in the suburbs and walked up to the small porch to knock on the door.
"Nathan Madden, we'd like to ask you a few questions." JJ called as she knocked on the door. From inside the house we could hear the sound of furniture being moved and then the sound of a shattered window.
"Shit!" Morgan quickly pulled the gun from where he'd had it concealed and took off to the left of the house and as JJ kicked the door in I quickly headed around the right.
I glanced at the house to see that the window on my side wasn't broken, but was in fact open wide. The shattered glass had most likely been a distraction but he hadn't taken into consideration the possibility of three of us being there.
A man in a black hoodie caught my eye and I quickly picked up the pace and pulled the gun from my pocket. The man lived close to an alley way and tried to use it as an escape route and it failed to do so.
"Freeze!" I heard as Morgan came into view on the other end of the alley, gun ready. Nathan stopped running and turned to see my gun in my hand as well and put his hands on his head in an act of surrender.
Morgan quickly handcuffed him and began walking him out of the alley. I pulled the phone out of my pocket and called Hotch.
"Is everyone alright?" his voice echoed concern and I could imagine the look on his face almost as if he were in front of me.
"We've got Nathan Madden and we're bringing him." I told him and walked over to Morgan so he could hear our next instructions.
"Those whore's deserved it. They deserved to be branded like cattle. I gave them everything!" Nathan screamed and attempted to kick at Morgan, who just calmly walked him.
"The local PD are headed your way. It's time for us to head home. Dinner is on me tonight." Rossi said and the line disconnected after that. I put the phone in my pocket and walked back with Morgan.
"You boys ok?" JJ asked as she ran up to us and we both nodded. We saw the police car where she stood and Nathan kicked and screamed as he was forced in.
A string of profanities left his mouth and after they drove off I heard JJ take a deep breath. Morgan and I turned to her and it was impossible not to see the smile on her face.
"Thank God it's the weekend. I'm more than ready to see Henry." She said with a light sigh.
Morgan put a hand on her shoulder and laughed. "Then let's not keep you waiting any more than we have to. Plus Rossi's cooking tonight."
She punched us both in the arm lightly and we laughed as we made our way to the SUV to head to the airport.
BEXLEY POV
I made my way down the street with Eleanor at my side and listened as she told me how to spend my night off. I tried to act interested but couldn't deny the fact that clubbing and dating wasn't something I'd ever done. I definitely didn't want to start now, but I wouldn't tell her that.
"Eleanor, where exactly are we going?" I asked hoping both to distract her and get an answer this time. We'd wandered the streets all day and she had simply said that she was waiting on a friend to get back.
"My friend is finally home from New York and I had to pick up something for him. Who do you think we bought ingredients for spaghetti? I can't see to cook and quite frankly I don't trust yours." She laughed and I had to refrain from rolling my eyes.
"I can cook. I'll cook for you one day." I told her and she laughed at me. I had had to learn how to cook at an early age. I'd fend for myself while dad was too busy drinking and hoped that if he'd had a hot meal waiting for him, the beating would be gentler. Very rarely did that work though.
"He owes me dinner anyway, dear. Plus, he called a little while ago and said that he'll have a few friends over. This will be a good chance for you to meet people before you go to work; a chance to break out of your shell a little bit."
She looped an arm around my waist and then turned at a rather large house with at least four vehicles out there. I felt my heart rate pick up a little but silenced my worries. I wasn't going to be scared of meeting new people anymore. I just had to get used to the idea.
Eleanor knocked on the door and not a moment later an obviously Italian male stepped out from the house. He wasn't very tall but enveloped Eleanor in a hug and I smiled at the sweet gesture. I hadn't seen many in my life and the one's I had seen were in movies so it was nice to see one that was real.
"Rossi, it's good to see you too." She pulled away from the hug and reached back to grab my hand. "This is a close friend of mine and she's also new to Quantico. I hope you don't mind an extra person."
The man laughed and held out a hand to me. "Of course I don't mind, Eleanor. The more people the better. David Rossi and it's nice to meet you."
I took his hand and shook it once before saying "Bexley Kirrier and the same."
"Please come in and I'll introduce you to everyone." I walked in and saw about three other people standing around a small but elegant kitchen. I took a deep breath and followed quickly.