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A Mother's Love

"I don't understand why the un-sub changed dump site locations. First cemeteries and now churches," Morgan said as he and Rossi stood on the top of the steps leading up to the great double doors of St. Anne's church.

Rossi looked up at the stone gargoyle about the entrance to the church. "Did you know that gargoyles are supposed to keep evil spirits from entering the church?"

Morgan stared at Rossi through his dark glasses. "You freak me out when you channel Reid like that."

"Why do you people think Reid knows everything and I can't know anything?"

"Hey, don't get upset man. I'm just surprised."

Rossi didn't respond as he looked at the stairs. "I don't think the fear of getting caught with the bodies is the problem for this un-sub. Look at how busy this street is?" He gestured to the traffic passing below them.

"What about security cameras. There's a bank down the street." Morgan observed.

"The angle is wrong. I'm sure our killer did his homework. He could have pulled into the parking lot and timed the drop off between cars passing here. It's the same as the other sites. If you dress in dark clothing, who's going to notice? This isn't a residential area so the speed limit is higher. I don't see people slowing down to pay attention to the church."

"We should check out the forecast and see if the moon was out." Morgan said.

"That's a good idea." Rossi followed Morgan back down the stairs to the sidewalk. "What do you think Morgan? Is Reid onto something?"

"If you're asking me if a woman did this." Morgan shrugged his shoulders. "I know there're no absolutes in what the mind can do, but this seems excessively violent for a woman. On the other hand, there's no sexual component at all unless you count the stabbing." He didn't look satisfied to Rossi.

"On the other hand, Reid sees patterns we don't see until he points them out."

Morgan smiled grimly. "That's what I'm afraid of… If this is a woman, there's rage like I've never seen inside. She's incredibly dangerous."

"Let's get back to the station and see if Emily and Reid have anything new. Maybe the coroner shed some light on the wounds or the dismemberment that'll help nail down gender." Rossi said as they climbed into the burrowed SUV.

"One thing I know for sure is that man or woman this un-sub's not stopping till we catch him." Morgan said.

CMCMCMCM

"Why don't you stay with Mrs. LaSalle while I go talk to Dr. Singh?" Emily said as the collapsed woman began to awaken.

"You can't leave me here with her." Reid squeaked in utter panic. "She thinks I'm her dead son." He hissed.

"All the more reason for you to stay here and talk to her. You'll have her eating out of your hand."

"Emily…"

"You'll do fine." She winked at him. "Can you show me where I need to go?" She asked the receptionist.

The young blond woman looked at Mrs. LaSalle and Reid then back to Emily. "I don't know if I should just leave her here."

Emily nodded sympathetically. "I promise she's in good hands. Dr. Reid is very kind."

"I guess its okay. Dr. Singh told me to bring you down, so I better do that." The receptionist said reluctantly.

Emily ignored the pleading in Reid's puppy eyes and followed the receptionist to the elevator. He looked back at the woman on the floor and wiped his hands on his trousers. This was so not good.

Mrs. LaSalle tried to climb to her feet, swayed and nearly fell again. Reid leaped forward and grabbed her before she could collapse. "Ma'am… Are you alright?"

She turned her face and her bloodshot brown eyes up to this face. "Carl?"

"No ma'am…" He gently led her into the waiting area, to a small-upholstered bench. "My name is Dr. Spencer Reid."

He helped her sit down on the bench, and then he pulled out his badge for her to see. She looked at it then shook her head. "I'm sorry… I need my glasses." She said in a hoarse voice.

She fumbled into the black bag on her shoulder and pulled out a pair of squared framed glasses. They perched on the end of her nose, reminding Reid of a teacher in high school he'd liked. She peered at his badge again and more tears welled up in her eyes.

"I knew it was too good to be true, but I'd so hoped the police were wrong. Carl was all I had." She sobbed.

Reid put an awkward arm around her shoulders as he'd seen JJ do a few times. You're not JJ!

No, he wasn't JJ, but he didn't have her, and Emily had abandoned him, so he'd have to do the best he could with what he had. "I'm an FBI agent with the Behavioral Analysis Unit. I'm here to find the person that hurt your son."

She pulled an old-fashioned handkerchief from her bag and wiped at her eyes under her glasses. "I'm sorry I fainted dear boy."

"It's okay…" He said. "It's normal to see a loved one after they've died." He said.

She sniffed loudly and he mentally kicked himself for using the word 'died' instead of something better liked 'passed on.'

"Would you like some water?" He asked spying a water bottle in one corner of the room and little cone shaped paper cups.

"Thank you," she said faintly.

He shot out of his place next to her and fetched the water. "Here you go."

She drank it down the three gulps. "Do you know who did this to my boy?" She demanded fiercely.

"No ma'am… Do you mind if I ask you a few questions about Carl?"

She bowed her head. "The police asked me lots of questions."

Reid placed a hand on her arm. "I know they did, but I have different questions. I'd like to know what Carl was like." He asked kindly.

"He was a lovely boy, so kind and sweet to me. His father died when he was five. I had to raise him alone. He was such a good little boy. He never gave me any trouble even when he was a teenager. He helped me so much when he finished school with money and with repairs around the house. He said it was up to him to take care of me. I loved him for that, but I wanted him to have his own life too."

"What do you mean?"

"Only that he was very shy with girls. I think growing up without a father was hard on him. He never learned how to talk to girls."

She smiled sadly. "I suggested that he join that dating web site. I gave him the membership fee for his twenty-fifth birthday. I just wanted him to be happy."

"I'm sure he appreciated everything you did for him. It must be hard to raise a child without their father."

"You're just like my Carl and I don't mean that you look like him." She sniffed patting his arm. "You're very kind and sweet to listen to me ramble about how I wanted my son to find a nice girl. You're mother must be very proud of you."

"She is," he said, choking a bit on his words. "I lost my dad when I was young too."

"You poor boy…"

"It's okay… I just want to help you and the families of the other young men. Can you tell me the name of the dating service your son used?"

"It's called romance dot com. Do you think it has something to do with the person that killed my Carl?" She demanded, tears filling her eyes again.

"I don't know ma'am… We have to check into all angles. Do you know if he met anyone on the site?"

"He didn't say… He only had the membership for a week before…" She choked.

"Alright," He patted her arm again. "I'm going to give the site name to a wonderful woman in DC who's our technical analyst. If there's anything to find, she'll find it for us."

"Reid," Emily's voice broke into the conversation. "I need to talk to you."

"I have to go. Can we see you out to your car?"

Mrs. LaSalle shook her head. "I'm fine. I just need to sit her for a while."

He left her very reluctantly. "She shouldn't be alone." He whispered to Emily as they left.

Emily stopped him at the double doors. He looked back at the woman who sat there alone because she had no one now that her son was dead. "You can't take responsibility for her Reid."

"She's all alone Emily."

"I feel bad for her too. It must be terrible to lose a son, but we have to do our jobs."

"It's not right." Reid insisted.

"I care about her too Reid, but you can't lose yourself in her pain. We need you on this."

Reid only looked back at Carl's mother who stared out on of the windows. Why did she have to be left all alone?

"Come on," Emily pulled on his arm. "We need to get back to Hotch. Dr. Singh found something on the last body that's very interesting."

A/n the site mentioned in this chapter is fictional.