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The team gathered in the conference room as soon as Hotch, Reid and Detective Markowitz returned from Columbia Mental Health. Reid was pacing the room when Garcia trailed in behind Emily and JJ. He was muttering under his breath and Hotch had to go tap him on the shoulder to get his attention back on the group.
"Reid…" He said firmly and the young man looked up with eyes that were just on this side of wild.
"Oh yeah…" He sat down next to Emily and began to tell the others what Jonathon Zacharias had said and done.
"… So I remembered that I had read the Latin phrase somewhere in a book. I was sure that I hadn't heard, but I couldn't remember where I read it. I knew that it wasn't something my mom read to me or –"
"Get to the point man." Morgan interrupted good-naturedly.
Reid glared at this friend and Morgan smiled back. "What I'm trying to say is that because of the reference to the voice in the wall and the Latin made me think about a story by Edgar Allen Poe I read when I was eight."
"You read Poe when you were eight," Morgan sounded a bit incredulous. "Weren't you scared," He teased in a mock serious tone while leaning forward on his elbows.
"No…" Reid said a bit too loudly and quickly to be believed.
He wasn't about to admit to the chills that had run up his spine the first time he'd read "The Raven," or the palpable sense of horror in his stomach, left by the "Cask of Amontillado," or the sense of adventure he'd experienced when reading "The Gold Bug."
"I read "The Cask of Amontillado," and basically it's about this man called Montressor, who has a feud with a man called Fortunado, and he lures this man to his house during Carnival under the pretext of tasting this rare wine he's supposedly come across and has stored in his underground vaults."
"While we're young," Morgan interrupted again.
"Fine… he gets his revenge by walling up Fortunado alive in the catacombs. "In pace requiescat" is Latin for rest in peace. It's the last line of the story."
They were all very quiet for a minute till Garcia spoke up. "Sounds spooky, I like spooky," She said.
"Mama, you scare me when you talk like that." Morgan retorted. "Why am I just finding out about this side of you now?"
"A lady needs her mystery."
"Focus please," Hotch interrupted sternly.
"So what are we saying? That Zacharias walled up someone alive and the guilt is driving him insane." Detective Markowitz asked sounding very skeptical.
"Yes," Reid said. "Or the better assumption is that he killed someone and hid them in a wall. The person didn't have to be alive, and if the wall was brick and mortar, he could have concealed a body with no one being the wiser."
"But who did he kill?" Detective Markowitz was sounding confused and impatient.
"Not Katie, she's real enough, I've seen her, she touched my cheek and I could smell her perfume."
Morgan snorted at this and Reid glared at him. "Not now Morgan," He said through gritted teeth.
"Just because you could touch her doesn't mean she isn't dead. She could be a ghost that's trying to communicate with you and get you to solve her murder. She might not even know she's dead. Sometimes the dead don't move on if they have unfinished business or they don't know they have died. Sometimes they –"
"Garcia…" Hotch interrupted.
"Sorry sir, too much "Ghost Hunters," She admitted with a sheepish smile.
"Aren't ghosts supposed to haunt a place, not a person," Morgan asked.
"Actually, there are many accounts of people being haunted by sprits that follow them wherever they go." Reid added helpfully in a squeaky tone, and was rewarded with a glare from Hotch.
"Sorry Hotch," He said.
"Let's assume Katie is among the living. She might be hiding because she's still afraid of Zacharias even though he's locked up."
"But why the games, why not come forward and accept protection," Rossi asked.
"Maybe she doesn't want him to find out she's alive. Maybe she doesn't believe that we can protect her." Garcia said.
"She seemed to seek out Reid." Rossi reminded them. "Did she know you're an FBI agent, or did she just happen to run into you," He asked with the air of someone that doesn't believe in accidents.
"Um… I don't think she knew. She seemed surprised when I told her."
"Then the best thing to do is assume it was a coincidence and leave it at that," Hotch said.
"We could use it to our advantage in trying to find her." Detective Markowitz proposed.
"You mean stake out the library." Reid asked doubtfully.
"It worked for you once." Morgan reminded him and Reid blushed at the memory of his crash-and-burn with Katie.
"That doesn't mean that if I go there she'll show up too." He protested, but the protest was a token one. He wanted badly to see her again and this was the perfect opportunity.
"Then it's settled," Rossi interrupted.
"Garcia, did you find anything in your search." Hotch asked.
Garcia's face went carefully neutral and she peered out at the window over Rossi's shoulder that looked out over the bull pen.
"No sir, if she's been underground all this time, I can't find any trace."
"Okay, it's getting late, let's quit for the night. We'll pick up in the morning." Hotch told the team.
Reid stole a look at his watch and saw that it was after eight pm. He was hungry, and tired, and frustrated by the road blocks in this case. They had a victim that wouldn't co-operate, no evidence of a crime and their only viable suspect was in an insane asylum.
"You want to go get something to eat with us." Morgan's voice broke through his thoughts.
He looked up to see Emily, JJ Garcia and Morgan standing together. They were all looking at him like they were afraid he would disappear if they let him out of their sight.
"No… got to get home and decorate." He said throwing out the first excuse that came to his mind.
"Decorate for what?" Morgan was asking him.
"Halloween, of course," He answered.
"Aren't you a little behind," Emily asked. "I mean you're usually boring us to tears about your favorite holiday by now."
"Yeah… I wondered what was different about you this year," JJ agreed. She took his arm and pulled him out the door so he couldn't escape.
He decided that fighting with them was worse than just going along, so he let her drag him with her to the elevator and down to the garage.
Reid parked his car in the driveway and got out into rain. It was still pouring after six hours and he was beginning to feel mildewed. He put up his umbrella and went around to the other side of the car to grab his messenger bag out of the passenger side of his ancient Volvo. It was cold and he shivered under his favorite dark brown corduroy jacket.
He headed to the front door, his mind full of thoughts about putting up his Halloween decorations. It was good to have something else to think about besides Katie and her mysterious behavior.
It was late, but he didn't want to wake up without a pumpkin carved for the next night. Then there were lights to hang inside as it was to rainy and dark outside. Also he needed to put up a few…
"Hello," a voice said out of the darkness when he reached the tiny porch.
He jumped and almost fell off the top step leading to his door. She stepped out of the darkness under the overhang and his heart skipped a beat. It began to thud painfully in his chest when he realized that their plans to stake out the library had gone to hell. How did she know where to find him? He knew he'd never told her and he'd never brought her here either. How did she know?
"How did you find me?" He asked in a tone that was much harsher than he intended.
He should have found seeing her hard work in the darkness and the rain, but his eyes must have adapted to the poor conditions because he could see the upset on her face.
"I'm sorry, I was surprised," He found his mouth moving to say words that he didn't want to say because he didn't want to be in the middle of this anymore.
Whatever happened to attempting to have a normal life?
He shook the thought away and unlocked the door. She followed him silently through the door and he had to lean past her to key the code to the alarm. The scent of lilacs rushed over him again and he got light headed.
Stop it! Remember you're mad at her.
Except… He couldn't think of a good reason to be mad at her anymore. She was there and now was his opportunity to find out why she wouldn't be honest with him.
"W-would you l-like s-something to drink?"
Oh God… He was stuttering and she hadn't been there five minutes!
"No…" She said very softly.
"Would you like to sit down?"
She nodded and he led the way to his living room. She sat on the battered couch and he perched on the equally battered chair. Why hadn't he taken the time to get new furniture like he'd planned for the last year?
"I'm sorry I keep running away Spencer. It's really hard for me to trust people."
He listened to her musical voice and didn't interrupt. "I've been hiding and trying to deny the truth, but I realized that I couldn't do that anymore. I like you a lot Spencer and I don't want to hide anymore."
"It's okay, you can tell me everything and then my team will find you a place to stay that will be safe."
She looked up at him with blue eyes that were full of tears. She pulled her white sweater closer around her shoulders and her turquoise ring seemed to gleam in the light of the lamp he'd turned on.
"You can't help me now. You see, I've been waiting for you. I know that now. Now that you're here, I have to go."
"But," He was so confused. "You don't have to leave. You can stay here. You can sleep in my room."
She stared at him and his face went hot. "I m-mean you c-can sleep in my r-room and I'll s-stay on the c-couch.
Nice one Spencer, now she'll trust you!
"You're so nice, nicer than anyone has been in a long time, but I can't stay here."
"Please… my team and I can help you. Jonathon Zacharias is locked away. He can't hurt you anymore. I promise."
"I know he can't," She agreed.
"But I don't understand… If you know…"
"I know it now. I told you that I've been waiting for you. I can go now."
There was something in her eyes that Reid didn't like so he didn't look her in the face. Instead he concentrated on the watch he wore around the cuff of his light grey cardigan.
"I don't understand…" He repeated hoping she would say something to enlighten him.
"I know… I have to show you all of it."
He looked up and she was standing right in front of him. Her hand reached out for his face and suddenly he was falling into darkness.