Broken Circle

Chapter 5: Astonishment

The entire team gapes at Ria. Did she really just say there were two other bodies? Where the hell was she getting two other bodies from? Everyone flipped through their files, trying to find some mention of previous bodies.

"There are two other bodies?" Morgan asks in disbelief, voicing the thoughts of everyone else. He gave a careless toss of his file, finding it absurd that there were other vics.

"Indeed. All the evidence is in these photos." Ria gestures to the photos on the whiteboard behind her.

Reid leans forward, curious about what this flashy newcomer has to say. "What sort of evidence?" He was always up for a new opportunity to learn a new technique of observation.

"I'll show you." Ria turns to JJ. "Is there anyway to get these photos projected so that they are large scale?"

"Yeah…" JJ takes the projector remote and punches a few buttons. After a minute, the files upload to the screen.

"Excellent." Ria stands and walks up to the screen. "JJ, bring up the overhead shot. Thanks." She seizes the same fuzzy green pen Penny had been using with her earlier. "Notice the location of the body. She's on an altar, in the middle of a ringstone. By the shadows cast by the stones, you can tell that her head is facing South. This correlates with the fact that the vic is a redhead."

"How does that mean anything?" Morgan queries, still searching for the validity of Ria's astounding statement.

Before Ria can explain, Reid pipes up with some factoids. "Typically, in any religion or culture, each cardinal direction is associated with a color. The color typically associated with the South is red. All of the color associations are based upon a certain elemental property, in the case of South – fire." He looks sheepishly up at Ria, knowing full well that he trespassed onto her turf.

However, Ria does not care overmuch. The excitement that flows through her about what she is seeing far outweighs any annoyance she could potentially harbor. "So, given that the vic has red hair and facing a southerly direction, this tells me that you need to find two previous vics: one with brown hair to represent North, and one with blonde hair to represent East." Ria pauses a moment before adding as a side note, "This also means that there is at least one more sacrifice that must be done before the ritual can progress."

"Another murder?" Emily asks.

"Your fourth victim will have black hair to represent West." Ria looks pointedly at Prentiss, noting her black hair.

Hotch takes this moment to question Ria a little deeper. "Do you have any idea what sort of ritual this unsub might be performing?"

Ria lets loose a sigh of exasperation. "It's too hard to tell from the photos alone. Nearly all rituals involve invoking the Four Cardinal Directions and Elements." She flops into a chair, frustrated that she cannot deduce more from the photos. "I wish I could pull more for you…"

Hotch favors her with a rare smile. "You've uncovered more in one hour than we've been able uncover in three weeks. You have already proven yourself invaluable to this case." He looks pointedly at all of his team members, making sure that they are all aware that, by his standards, Ria has earned her place.

Meanwhile, Gideon glances between Ria and the photos, slightly disappointed that she had been unable to identify a particular ritual. Hotch may have given his approval, but Gideon wanted to see more of what Ria was able to do with her background in pagan and cult religions. But his profiler personality assured him that there were certain bits of non-photographical information that could make all the difference.

"Alright everyone," Hotch says after a period of silence. "Wheels are up in an hour for Salem, MA. Be prepared for a couple of days because I have no idea how long we'll be there. We can't afford to loose any time if there are two previous vics and a soon to be fourth."

The team filed out of the meeting room with a sense of urgency, eager to get back into the field after weeks of deskwork. Each member began their own unique process of preparation of a trip out in the field. Ria remained in the meeting room, going over the case file without the pressure of proving her abilities hanging over her. It frustrated her that she could not figure out exactly what sort of ritual was being attempted. Perhaps once she placed herself within the crime scene, she could get a better feel of what was running rampant in sleepy Salem.

"Ria, you going to get ready?"

Ria pulls her nose out of the file to find Penny leaning against the door frame. She glances back down at the file, wishing she had more information.

"Yeah…" Ria pauses for a few moments, compiling a mental list in her head of what she might need. "You know, my entire life is currently packed inside my car," she tells her older sister with a laugh.

Penny looks at her little sister with a wry grin. "You might want to start rummaging now, before the plane leaves without you."

"You're not coming?"

Penny shakes her head. "I can be of much more use here with my babies. Making me travel with them is pointless, especially when I've got all of them on speed-dial and we've got a webcam in JJ's laptop."

"Let me guess, Derek Morgan is number one on speed-dial…"

Penny glares at Ria through slitted eyes. "You, my dear little sister who's a royal pain in my ass, will keep silent on that matter."

Ria merely laughs off her sister's threat as she waltzes out of the meeting room. "I shall poke and prod wherever I feel like." She walks along the highwalk, oblivious to the team members below who are intently watching the exchange between the Garcia sisters. "Nothing can compare to the sneakiness of little sisters!" she throws over her shoulder with a toss of fiery waves as she heads out of the bullpen.

"Curse you!" Penny hollers from the doorway to Ria's retreating back. Penny was certain that the Salem trip was going to prove to be enlightening for the BAU team. She momentarily pitied the team, until she realized that such an encounter would be for their own good. She made a mental note to clean out her spare room at some point, so Ria would have a place to crash once the case was over.

As she walked past the team, Morgan implores, "Baby doll, is there any way you can save us from your sister?"

Penny eyes Morgan, debating how she should answer. "Baby cakes," she says with a sympathetic pat on the shoulder, "she's your consultant. Its time you got to know her and love her like I do."

"How do we even try to relate?" JJ cries.

Penny just laughs. "You've all got more in common with her than you think. Trust me. Take some time to get to know her and you'll see what I mean. She's not the cold hearted bitch you all assume her to be." With one last flirtatious smile at Morgan, she leaves them all by saying, "Keep in touch my lovelies. A girl gets lonely when all she has are machines. The real thing is amazing from time to time."