Chapter Nine
Gideon and Ashe stared at the case file as though something had drawn them to continue to look at it.
"Well our unsub is definantly a sexual sadist. It's not uncommon but as we also can tell that our unsub wants our help because of what he or she carved into the body of our victim. But why would they call us for one murder?" Morgan wondered.
Seth looked up from the case file and at Morgan. He was also curious about why the FBI was called about such a case.
"Because of the message that was left with the body. It was scribbled on an old piece of paper and it seems whoever wrote it is left handed." Hotchner answered.
Reed looked at the message in which Hotchner was talking about. He just couldn't keep his mind off Bella. He was so glad that Seth and Ashelia had introduced him to Bella.
"Our unsub is not only left handed but male. The preassure points in his handwriting are different from one of which would make him female. There is also the fact that the way he talks. 'If you don't call in the FBI I will kill more of the prostitutes in this fucking city.'" Reed explained.
Ashe and Gideon looked up from the case file. Ashe was sitting across from Gideon. She was happy to have the new team.
"Hotch! When I go on maternity leave you are in command. And yes I know I don't look pregnant but I am seven months pregnant." Ashe explained.
Reed and Prentice both looked closely at the victim. They noticed that she had her naval cut.
"What sick sadistic freak would do this?" Prentice wondered.
Reed looked up and looked at Prentice. He knew that she was still trying to adjust to the job. He knew that she knew who she was replacing.
"It might be his signature, Prentice. If we have another body we'll find out. Though I am pretty sure it is our unsub's signature." Reed responded.
Prentice grimmiced and looked at Reed. She understood that he was still adjusting to being under new command with the new team leader but was liking the fact that he now had a girlfriend by the name of Bella Cullen.
"Ashelia? How long have you worked for the BAU?" Hotchner wondered.
Ashe looked up at Hotchner and wondered why he didn't look at her sleeve. She shook her head.
"Ten years. When I started I was Ashelia Swan. Then I married my now deceased husband Mitchell Lanford and he plus my son were murdered. That was when I met and fell in love with and married Seth Andrew Clearwater." Ashe answered.
Hotchner nodded and looked at Ashe. He saw that she had not only lost her husband and son but she had also lost both her brother, Jace Alexander, and her half brother, Jace Adrian, to death and federal prison.
"You have dealt with a lot of loss in your life, Ashelia. I completely understand why you dislike me so much. I know I was a suspect in the Forks case in which we met. I am sorry that Jace Alexander's death was our reason for meeting before I came back to the BAU." Hotchner explained.
Morgan, JJ, Reed, and Seth looked over the crime scene. JJ noticed the knife on the ground near the dumpster.
"Clearwater! Hey, Seth. Look at this. Our unsub sure is sloppy unless he has a way of having more knives at his disposal that are exactly like this one." JJ stated.
Seth looked at the knife that JJ was putting in an evidence bag. He walked over to JJ and looked more closely at the knife. He noticed the initials carved in the hilt of the knife.
"Look at the hilt, JJ. The initials carved in the wood. It seems like our unsub thinks we are idiots or that we won't figure out who he is. He must think we are idiots. How stupid can he be?" Seth wondered.
Morgan and Reed walked over to Seth and JJ. Reed looked at the carving that Seth was talking about. He could barely make out the initials Seth had saw.
"How is it possible that you could make out that the carving is initials, Clearwater?" Reed wondered curiously.
JJ looked at Seth and had the same question in her eyes. She had always been curious about how Seth could see the initials that she, like Reed, could barely see.
"Eye doctor says I have better eyesight than a lot of people. He said I could see a lot of things from a distance that other people couldn't see." Seth answered.
Morgan looked closely at the carvings and could tead the initials that Seth had noticed.
"K.S. Well I guess this idiot really is stupid but the way the initials are carved into the hilt that our unsub isn't male but female. You can see how delicate the letters are carved. He is definantly a she." Morgan stated.
Reed pulled out his cell phone and called Garcia. He put it on speakerphone when it started ringing.
"Hello, Reed. What do you need?" Garcia wondered.
Seth looked at Reed and watched him motion for Seth to talk.
"Garcia. How many K.S.'s are in the city of Angel's Grove California?" Seth asked.
Garcia began typing frantically as though someone was treatening her. She soon slowed her typing and soon found ten names.
"Ten names, Clearwater. How do you want me to narrow it down?" Garcia wondered.
Morgan shook his head. He knew Garcia could do better. He also knew how smart she was.
"How many of them are female? That's how we need it narrowed down, Garcia?" Seth answered.
Garcia passed the required info to her search. She shook her head. Only three names showed now.
"Three names. Kelly Stanley, Kimberly Swinson, and Karrie Sturgeon. Karrie is close to where you are at. Well she lives close to where you are." Garcia responded.
"Thanks, Garcia. You're awesome. We'll call if we need anything else." Reed stated as he hung up.
Hotchner, Gideon, and Ashe looked at the young woman that Seth had dragged into the station.
"Clearwater. You can have the fun of inrerrogating her. You know as well as I do she will try to kill Gideon or myself. Hopefully you can get something out of her." Hotchner explained.
Ashe walked towards and through the door to the interrogation room. She looked at Karrie and could see that she had nothing to do with murder.
"Hello, Karrie. My name is Special Agent Ashelia Clearwater. Now I understand that you keep a knife on hand so you don't feel unarmed." Ashe wondered.
Karrie looked Ashe up and down. She felt stupid for losing her knife on the side of the road.
"Yes but I lost it last month. I had lost it on the side of the road. Someone must have found it and used it against the prostitute that you guys found. I was not in the alley in which the prostitute was found. My job entales that I carry a knife at all times. You see I am a butcher's apprentice." Karrie answered.
Ashe looked at Karrie's hands and saw the calluses that were sustained to being a butcher. She could see the look in Karrie's eyes that showed she couldn't harm a fly.
"Where were you when the victim was killed, Karrie?" Ashe wondered.
"I was at work. You can ask my boss. His name is Andrew Hinderliter." Karrie answered.
Ashe nodded. She turned and walked out of the room. She pulled out her cell phone and called Garcia.
"Yes, Mistress Clearwater. What do you need me to look up?" Garcia asked.
Garcia tapped her pen on her desk and looked at the monitor in front of her.
"What is Andrew Hinderliter's phone number?" Ashe wondered.
Morgan watched as Ashe limped around the station without her cane which made him wonder where her cane was.
"Clearwater! Where is your cane?" Morgan wondered.
Ashe looked up at Morgan and shook her head. She knew he was only curious about where her cane was.
"Hotch got pissed at an answer that Karrie's boss gave me and broke it. He seemed very agitated when I came out of the interrogation room. He said that I didn't need my cane. Gideon had to tell Hotch that I needed my cane by order of a doctor. That pissed Hotch off even more than what Karrie's boss did. Hotch stormed off with my broken cane. Gideon is looking for a temporary cane." Ashe responded.
Morgan walked over to Ashe and helped her to the nearest desk chair and helped her sit. He shook his head at the thought that Hotchner would break Ashe's cane.
"You said Hotch used to use drugs. He did when you were doing the case about your brother and two friends. Why he is acting this way towards you is something I can't even fathom, Clearwater? That's my question." Morgan wondered.
Ashe looked up at Morgan. She knew that he was trying to figure our why Hodgener was acting our against her. She then remembered that he was a suspect in her brother's case.
"He was a suspect in my brother's case, Morgan. He may still hate me for questioning him about my brother and his friends deaths. He never acted against me before now." Ashe responded.
Morgan looked at Ashe and kneeled in front of her. He could see that she was blaming herself for the way that Hotchner was acting towards her. He had to help her see that it wasn't her fault that he blamed her for doing her job.
"You were doing your job, Ashe. You are a great agent by what the director has told me. And he says in the last eight years you have proven to be an excellent leader. You did nothing wrong when you interrogated Hotch during that case. He was a suspect because with LSD, acid, uppers, downers, meth, crack, crystal meth, and any other drugs that your brother could sell." Morgan answered.
Ashe nodded and rubbed her right knee. She knew it wouldn't do any good to rub it. She looked at Morgan and was glad to have him on her team. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Gideon.
"Here you are, Clearwater. I'm sorry about Aaron. He is having withdrawl symptoms and it seems that he has some pent up anger towards you. He hates the fact that you are team leader." Gideon explained.
Morgan looked at Gideon. He was shocked at the fact that Hotchner hated Ashe. He looked at Ashe as she took the cane from Gideon and stood up.
"Doesn't he understand that the director doesn't want Hotch leading our team because the team is spuratic." Ashe responded.
Ashe looked at Gideon. She knew that Hotchner wanted to lead the team but he really couldn't lead the team because of the fact that he was needing drug rehab.
"CLEARWATER!" Hotchner hollered.
Gideon and Morgan flanked Ashe and walked with her. They could see that she was under a lot of stress that she didn't need for the sake of the pregnancy.
"What, Hotch?" Ashe wondered, calmly.
Hotchner looked at the cane that Ashe now had. He glared at Ashe and then at Gideon.
"First off you don't need that cane. Second off that idiotic Hinderliter kid said something about his brother coming home covered in blood and he was muttering something about prostitutes." Hotchner answered.
Ashe looked at Hotchner and shook her head. She knew he didn't like her but he couldn't hate her because she had the job of team leader.
"Okay. Did Andrew give his brother's name? And so you know Hotch just because you don't think I need my cane doesn't mean you have the right to break my cane. I already have to deal with a member of my team breaking my cane because he thinks I don't need my cane." Ashe wonderingly growled.
Hotchner looked at Ashe and finally understood why the director prefered having her as team leader instead of him. She had an air of control that he knew he would never have again.
"I see why the director likes having you as the team leader. You can keep the team from becoming reckless." Hotchner stated.
Ashe looked at Hotchner long and hard. She was shocked at the fact that she was finally getting some respect from Hotchner. It was something that she wasn't expecting.
"Thank you for finally understanding, Hotch. I know you think I don't need my cane but you have to understand that I have been told by doctors that I need my cane." Ashe stated.
Gideon looked at Hotchner and saw that Hotchner still hated Ashe for taking team leader from him.
Reed, Prentice, and JJ walked up to the door of the Hinderliter apartment. They could hear the younger Hinderliter brother and possibly the sister talking.
"Bradley Hinderliter. I am special Agent Emily Prentice. I have Special Agents Jennifer Jaroe and Dr. Spencer Reed with me. We have a few questions we would like to ask you." Prentice stated.
Bradley opened the door. He looked at Prentice and shook his head. He could tell that Andrew had said something before Bradley killed him.
"What do you need to know?" Bradley asked.
Reed watched as Prentice and JJ walked into the Hinderliter apartment. He soon saw that the young girl had the same striking blue eyes that her two brothers had.
"Where were you the nights the prostitutes were muredered and the night your brother Andrew Michael Hinderliter was murdered?" JJ asked.
Bradley looked at his sister and knew that she wouldn't help him. He shook his head.
"I was here with my sister Jenna. We were playing video games and hanging out. You see I work at Walmart as well." Bradley lied.
Jenna looked at Bradley like he was crazy. She knew that he wasn't here during any of the nights in question.
"Is he telling the truth, Jenna? Or is he covering his tracks by pulling you into it?" Reed asked.
Prentice watched as Bradley glared at Jenna. She could see that he wanted her to lie with him.
"He was never here, Agent Reed. The one time I saw him here he was covered in blood and had Andy Mike's glasses which were covered in blood. He kept saying that Andy deserved what had happened to him for the shear fact that Andy had told you guys what Bradley Joe has been up to with those prostitutes." Jenna answered.
JJ grabbed her cuffs and motioned for Bradley to turn around and put his hands behind his back.
Ashe sat across from Gideon and Hotchner. She knew that Hotchner was happy that once they got back to Quantico he was taking command of the team while she went on maternity leave.
"I hope I don't get any bad reports, Hotch. I don't want to have to have you transferred to a different department. And I hate to say this but keep me updated, Gideon. But I would feel better knowing that I am getting an update on my team." Ashe stated.
Gideon nodded at the fact that Ashe wanted to be updated about how Hotchner conducted the team. He knew that she wasn't to happy about leaving the team under Hotchner's command.
"Don't worry, Clearwater. I understand completely why you want to be updated about Hotch taking command of the team. You don't want to regret it later. And I hope you don't regret it." Gideon stated.
Two weeks had passed since the team returned to Quantico. Seth was once again sitting in the delivery room lobby. He was nervous once again.
"Daddy, where is mommy?" Jesikah asked.
Chief Swan walked over to Jesikah and kneeled before her and smiled. He saw Ashe in her.
"Mommy will be out here soon, sweetheart. The stork is bringing your mommy your baby brother or sister." Chief Swan responded.
Seth smiled at the fact that the nurse was wheeling Ashe and his newborn child into the lobby. He was overjoyed that the blanket was blue.
"What are we gonna name him, Ashelia?" Seth wondered.
Ashe looked up at Seth from her wheelchair. She smiled and the looked at Jesikah who had gotten up and walked up to Ashe and look at her baby brother.
"How about Adrian Edward Clearwater? Jesikah be gentle. He is a baby. You can hurt your brother." Ashe answered.
Chief Swan smiled down as his grandson. He looked at Ashe and Seth. He knew that Adrian would be his only grandson. He soon looked up and saw Bella and some guy he didn't know.
"Bella. Say hello to Adrian Edward Clearwater." Chief Swan stated.
Bella looked down at her nephew and smiled. She was so happy that Edward would be remembered. She looked at Reed.
"Hello, Adrian. Spencer James Reed! Seth, Ashe thank you for introducing Spence and myself. And he knows the secrets and understands the need of secrecy for vampires and the Quileutes. He also knows how you gained your scars, Ashelia." Bella responded.
Jesikah looked at Reed like he was crazy. She grabbed Bella's leg and hugged it like Reed was gonna take her aunt away.
"Jesikah Renae Clearwater. It's okay. Aunt Bella isn't gonna be taken away from you. She is still your aunt. You are just gonna have a new uncle. Say hello to Uncle Spencer." Ashe stated.
Reed looked at Ashe and smiled. He noticed how her family reacted to him and actually felt like he belondged in her world.
"Don't worry, Ashelia. I will keep the secret of your family. I am good at keeping secrets and plus I am in love with Bella." Reed answered.
Bella looked at Reed and saw that he had a question in his eyes. She wondered what he wanted to ask.
"You have a question for someone don't you, Spence?" Bella wondered.
Reed looked at Bella and nodded. He stepped in front of Bella and dropped to one knee. He looked up and Bella and pulled a ring box out of his pocket.
"Will you, Isabella Renee Cullen, marry me?" Reed asked.
Ashe and Seth returned to work a couple weeks later. Ashe looked for Gideon and soon spotted him. She walked over to him.
"Well how did Hotch do, Jason? Where is he?" Ashe wondered.
Gideon looked up from the paperwork on his desk. He saw the worry in her eyes. He understood why though.
"Ashelia. He was fired while you were gone. He went power crazy and kept muttering about how he was going to kill you." Gideon stated.
Ashe looked at Gideon and understood the look in his eyes. She knew that it would happen eventually. She just didn't think it would happen so soon.
"Power crazy. Thank the heavens that the director fired Hotch. I just can't believe that he would want to kill me for the shear fact that I am team leader. What an idiot." Ashe exclaimed.
Reed walked up to Ashe and Gideon. He had a big grin on his face. He knew that Ashe was happy for him and Bella.
"Gideon. Clearwater." Reed stated.
"Hey, Spence. What's with the shit eating grin?" Ashe wondered.
"Bella and I set a date for the wedding. It's gonna be July second. I talked to Morgan and he is gonna be my best man. Bella wanted me to ask you, Ashe, if you would be her maid of honor." Reed stated.
Ashe smiled at Reed and nodded. She knew why Bella wanted her to be maid of honor.
"She knows my answer. My answer to be Bella's maid of honor is yes. Please take care of my sister, Spence." Ashe responded.
Gideon looked at Ashe and then heard the wedding march and stood with the other guests. He watched Ashe's sister and father walk down the aisle. He understood why Reed fell in love with her.
"She's beautiful, Reed." Morgan stated.
"Yeah she is, Morgan. I didn't fall in love with her just for her looks. She is smart and funny. She has an amazing six year old daughter named Renesmee Carlie Cullen." Reed responded.
Emmett walked up to Ashe at the reception. As did Alice. Both seemed pretty distraught.
"What's up, you two?" Ashe asked.
"Rosalie and Jasper were dusted. If you get what I mean, Ashelia?" Emmett answered.