(Disclaimer: I do not own Criminal Minds or it's characters)
Hopefully things will become clearer in this chapter.
Oh, and towards the end a song comes on, if you're confused as to what it is, it's 'A Thosand Years' by Christina Perri. I really love that song!
Please read and review, thanks!
Mara got home with a wide smile on her face. She pulled open the front door and found her husband sprawled on the couch with a bowl of popcorn, his eyes glued on the TV screen.
"Whatcha watching'?" She asked sweetly, perching on the parts of the couch he hadn't occupied.
"M'othing", he mumbled his mouth full of popcorn, he flicked off the TV and turned to Mara, swallowing down the popcorn and smiling at her.
"Yea right, was that Spider-Man I saw?" Ronnie blushed deeply as Mara smirked at him.
"Perhaps..." he hissed, leaning close for a kiss. Mara leaned in, but placed a finger over his lips before they could meet, grinning teasingly.
"Well put it back on", she grabbed the popcorn and shovelled a handful in her mouth, then she kissed him on his confused lips, laughing as she pulled away and spraying bits of popcorn over his lap. Ronnie proceeded to throw some kernels at his still chuckling wife and he practically wrestled the popcorn off her, pulling her close to him.
"We're you trying to steal my popcorn?" He raised his eyebrows as her hand stuck into the bowl. Mara snuggled herself into his side, ignoring his question and helping herself to the popcorn. "What's mine is yours I guess", laughed Ronnie, sticking the film back on and wrapping his arm around his wife.
The BAU got in early the next day, working on a profile for wolf. Garcia had set herself up in the computer lab, but she wasn't getting along with Conner one bit. Reid was studying the map, trying to form a geographical profile when he heard Penelope shout out.
"Was this you Jacobs!? Oh come on!" She marched out with several of her figurines clutched in her hands.
"What's wro..." Reid started, but Garcia angrily interrupted.
"What's wrong?! I'll tell you what's wrong, that overbearing, evil little toad threw my things in the trash! Look!" She shoved the contents of her palms under Reid's nose and he recoiled. The small colourful figurines were covered in the reminents of someone's lunch, no doubt Jacobs'. "It's so gross! I had to fish them all out of the bin and..urgh" she heaved at the memory, "I'm setting up in here." She insisted with finality, leaving the room and heading for the toilet to wash her possessions. Morgan smiled as she walked by, but her eyes were locked on the bathroom and her lip was quivering with rage.
"What was that about?" Morgan asked, his eyebrows raised.
"Conner put her...uh what would you call them? Figurines? Those random things she keeps on her desk, he put them in the bin. Let's just say she didn't take too kindly to it." Reid said. Morgan guffawed and rubbed his face.
"Can't say I'm surprised, it's literally been 24 hours and they're already at each other's throats."
"I don't blame Garcia , Conner can be an asshole", Reid shrugged and turned back to his map. Morgan was a little taken aback, but he smirked and took a seat.
"Well, well, I've been waiting years to hear Dr Spencer Reid say 'asshole"", he made exaggerated finger movements on the word "asshole", chuckling when Reid turned around, pouting indignantly.
"I've said it before", Reid objected, swivelling back to his map, and whilst his back was turned Morgan mimicked what he just said with his hand and shook his head at the young genius.
Harper and Stanley walked into the conference room, coffee in hand.
"Found anything on that map?" Stanley asked, opening the file with his one finger. Spencer didn't answer so he looked up.
"Spencer?" Reid's mouth was moving his eyes screwed up. Morgan grinned at Stanley and mouthed "in the zone" and Stanley laughed.
"Huh?" Reid looked around at the sound of laughter.
"I said have you found anything?" Stanley reiterated, taking a big swig of coffee.
"Oh right, sorry. Uh, from the previous dumpsites, I've triangulated that the next one will be in this area", he pulled the lid off a red marker and circled a small area on the map, "or here," and he circled another spot close by.
"You sure, kid?" Harper said, which made Reid and Morgan give him an of-course-I'm/he's-sure look. Harper chuckled, "I'll have officers on stand by at each loacation."
Just then Amelia bounced in.
"Another body's been found", she announced unhappily.
"Where?" Stanley frowned.
Amelia walked up to the map and pointed at a spot in the centre of Reid's red ring, marked by a pin.
"Great", sighed Harper. "Amelia, you and Derek go to the crime scene, see what you can find." The two left. Reid went back to his map, trying to figure out the next location.
"His name was Marcus Lunsford, age 27. He worked at the local Walmart." Amelia looked down at the victim, or what was left of the victim. He was ripped to shreds. Most of his face was still intact (though one eye had been squelched beneath a set of thick jaws). Muscle and flesh was torn from the bone, blood and fragments of skin and fat peppered the dusty floor.
"What the hell did this?" Whispered Amelia, glancing away, disgusted by the sight of the mutilated flesh.
"Dog or a wolf, if you ask me. It's likely he was still alive during the attack", Morgan said, cringing at the white bone that had been uncovered by savage teeth.
"I don't understand. This guy is different again, and the method of murder is..." she looked down and felt bile rise through her throat. "Urgh, can we go, I can't stand looking at this." Morgan agreed, the smell penetrating his nostrils and almost making him heave as well.
"I come bearing donuts!" Mara exclaimed, slamming the box on the table in front of the working agents and detectives and smiling giddily.
"You are an angel sent from the heavens!" Praised Garcia, stealing one and biting into it lustfully.
"What are you doing in here?" Mara asked, taking a donut herself and sliding into the seat next to Garcia.
"2 words: Conner Jacobs", she groaned, taking another enriching mouthful of donut. Mara giggled, trying to imagine the two coming to blows.
"Fair enough", she looked around the table. Hotch and Rossi were studying their files, but took a donut each gratefully. Stanley, lunged for the box, throwing a sugary delight at Harper. Stanley returned to his paperwork and Harper remained staring at Reid, who was stood near the board, his brain pulsating with an idea. JJ and Emily were opposite Garcia and they were chatting, not having much else to do. Alex was in the computer lab going through some things with Matthew and Conner, god help her, thought Mara.
"I've sent images and info on the latest victim to your tablets." Garcia informed them, typing away madly. Rossi handed his tablet to Reid, who stared at the images intently, his eyes going wide.
"Please put us out of our miseries. You've been thinking for at least an hour and you haven't said a word", moaned Rossi, Reid looked at him with puzzlement.
"Where'd you come from?" He asked surprise, his eyes also landing on the rest of the team who hadn't been there before.
"Exactly," exclaimed Rossi in exasperation, making the others laugh.
Amelia staggered in looking a little pale, with Morgan on her heels.
"You guys don't want to see that", huffed Amelia, leaning heavily against the wall. She gaped at Morgan when he took a donut and started munching contently on it.
"It was a mess", Derek mumbled through donut, Garcia shook her head disapprovingly at his lack of manners.
"Yea, we've seen. Looks like some kind of animal finished him off", Stanley grimaced.
"Pretty sure it started and finished him. Our victim was alive during the attack, there were sighs of self defence and there was fur beneath his nails." Morgan explained, swiftly finishing his donut. Reid was still muttering to himself.
"Right, come on Genius, out with it", Sighed Rossi. Reid didn't answer him, all eyes were on him, most of them were rolling at him. Spencer closed his eyes and then snapped them open and shot off to the board, grabbing a pen and scribbling across the board. He rearranged the photos and the names next to them and wrote a list of names down in black marker.
"Spence?" JJ glanced at him worriedly.
"I knew there was something", he mumbled, more to himself than anyone else.
"Knew what?" Asked Amelia, who had seemed to recover and was chewing on a donut.
"The connection", he blurted, surveying them all. "The victims are surrogates."
"For who?" Hotch's brow furrowed, worried what sort of theory Spencer might come up with. Spencer bit his lip thinking of a way to explain it.
"This team", he motioned to the detectives. "First victim had his hair cut short, but it was already black and then he was dressed in jeans and a shirt. He's a surrogate for Conner." The team looked at each other, thinking deeply. Reid took a breath and began rambling again. "Victim 2 looked and was dressed like Harper, he was also a similar age. Victim 3 had long blonde hair and was the same age range as Mara, she was even dressed in a similar style to you. Vic..."
"Reid, this is a good theory, but the method of each kill is different..." Hotch cut into Reid's explanation, but Spencer bravely interrupted Hotch.
"I can explain that too", Hotch folded his arms expectantly.
"Harper, what's your biggest fear?" Reid asked politely. Harper looked a little shocked, but he straightened up quickly.
"I'm claustrophobic, so tight spaces can make me paralytic", he admitted honestly, Reid drew a line from Harper's name (which Reid had written on the board) and linked it to the second victim.
"Victim 2 was buried alive. Mara?" Reid turned his gaze on Mara.
"Drowning", she said and her name was connected to the third victim.
"So he's killing based on each of our fears?" Stanley questioned and Reid nodded vigorously.
"Yes. He's killing people who he believes represent you and he kills based on each of your fears." Reid confirmed, linking the rest of the names to the photos. "I assume Conner's biggest fear is spiders," he said linking him to the first victim who had died from spider bites, "and Matthew's is dogs or wolves."
"What about Amelia's? He stabbed Laura in the abdomen and then slit her throat, where's the fear in that?" Emily pointed out, looking from Spencer to Amelia.
"I have an idea", Spencer said quietly, looking down at his purple converse. They all watched him with expectancy, but it was Amelia to answer.
"I..uh." She took a deep breath. "My last relationship ended after I miscarried our baby. So.. ...I guess Jason caught on. That's why I haven't had any relationships since..." Mara looked down at her file as her sister spoke. She already knew this. They all watched sympathetically as Amelia struggle on her words.
"Your biggest fear is losing another child", JJ finished and Amelia nodded weakly.
"The 4th victim was stabbed typically where the fetus would be", Reid said sadly.
"So we know who he will be targeting next, d'you have the next dumpsite mapped out?" Rossi glanced at Reid, who pointed at where he'd marked on the map. "If he sticks to his schedule, the next body will turn up in a week."
Mara got home to find a note from her husband, informing her he wouldn't be home that night, having left for a short business trip that morning. She sighed and flung her bag on the kitchen counter. She put her IPod in the speaker sat on a chest of drawers. She flicked through the songs landing on one of her favourites to compliment her mood.
She moved gracefully around the room, closing her eyes and recalling her first dance with her husband.
She closed the curtains and twirled to the soft music.
Lost in your love,
like a sign from above...
Mara locked the door.
She hummed along with the words as she began pouring herself a glass of wine.
The high pitched soprano filled the house.
Something clunked down the hallway.
Time stands still, the voice continued.
She set down her wine glass and peered down the hall.
I loved you... the note held as Mara leaned her head down the hall.
"Ronnie?" She called out quietly, reaching for her gun.
I will be brave
She aimed her gun and slowly tiptoed further into her house.
You let me in,
and now I'm free,
I never knew what was standing right in front of me
She got part way down the hallway, her breaths shallow and full of panic. Suddenly she felt a cloth and a rough hand cover her nose and mouth. She tried to turn, but her attacker was stronger and held her in place as she involuntarily breathed in the nose tingling scent, lingering on the rag.
Every breath,
She felt the fight leave her, her eyelids growing heavy,
Every touch, the voice started to ebb away with the music.
Mara went limp in her attackers arms. He let her slump to the floor.
I have died everyday
waiting for you
Jason Wolf allowed the music to play on as he dragged an unconscious Mara out of the back door.
The song died away after a few minutes and the house fell silent.
TBC.
Sorry about the cliffhanger! Things are starting to get serious.
Hopefully I'll have an update for you tomorrow.
Please leave a review, it'd make me super happy.
I just updated this, I reasoned I had a song in this, whoops, so that song that your read parts of is completly random rubbish, so I apologise.
Thanks for reading!