"Is that... flour in your hair?" Morgan asked as Spencer and Evie walked into the round table room at the BAU. Spencer looked at Evie with a guilty glance and reached over to run his hands through a strand of her hair, probably getting flour out that she had missed. Morgan had a half-smile smirk painted on his face while watching them, shaking his head and raising his eyebrows. Luckily he didn't question them further.
It had taken them both about twenty minutes just to get the food off of them. It was nearly impossible to tell who had won their food fight, but they definitely got each other a little too good. Spencer still felt like his sides were sticky from jam and his hair was still wet and a bit slick from the egg Evie had gotten all over him. Not to mention the kitchen was still left a mess due to there being no time to clean it. He wasn't looking forward to that when they got home. The clothes they had been wearing were questionable as to whether or not they'd be able to get the food stains out. As he had complained to Evie, in the end it was only his clothes that got messy since she loved wearing his shirts.
"Alright fellow crime fighters." Garcia said as she wisped into the room with files in her hands. Her nailpolish was bright yellow which matched her new dress that she wore with purple accents. Everyone's attention turned to her over by the screen where she was displaying pictures. Spencer's hand immediately found Evie's under the table like he always did when new cases were presented. It made it just a bit easier for both him and Evs. She squeezed his hand back, both of them continuing to observe the pictures.
The first one was of a man with light brown hair and a normal build. There was a noose wrapped around his neck as he lied on red carpet, his limbs splayed out all around him. His eyes were still partially open a sliver, his dead orbs staring off into space.
"The first victim was found inside of the Metropolitan Opera House in New York City. The cause of death was strangulation by a noose that the unsub leaves around their neck before leaving them inside of the theater itself. The next two victims, one a male and another a female, were found in the same way but it different parts of the opera house." Garcia went on to explain, cringing at the sight of the photos on screen. Spencer felt Evie tense besides him like when she had something to say.
"It has unmistakable reference to Andrew Lloyd Webber's Phantom of the Opera." She said, frowning at the screen. She had already switched on her determined work mode persona. She always told Spencer he had one of those too.
"Oh, it gets even better, my friends." Garcia said, suddenly frowning afterwards. "Or… worse. Whatever you want to say. There was also a single red rose placed on their chest post mortem."
"So we have someone taking on the persona of the Phantom? So what, we've got a copycat of a fictional serial killer?" Morgan asked, rubbing his chin in thought while leaning back in his chair.
"Possibly. We won't know for sure until we look further into it. We'll debrief a bit more on the plane. Wheel's up in thirty." Hotch said, already getting up out of his chair. Spencer took one last look at the pictures on the screen, remembering how similar it looked to the fictional character's work. This would be an interesting case.
The plane ride wasn't too long since New York wasn't too far from Quantico, at least on their jet anyway. They had debriefed on the plane a bit more. It was a really eerie case. Spencer was definitely more familiar with the Phantom of the Opera more than any other musical or opera as he was talking about with Evie the other night. Just the thought of the other night made Spencer smiled. He looked over at her and she looked back, giving him a small smile and reaching over to squeeze his hand. Sometimes it drove him crazy having to stay professional at work, but really he was just grateful they worked in the same place. He couldn't imagine having to away so often away from her.
"Alright, Rossi and Spencer will go to the opera house to check out the crime scenes. Morgan and I will go talk to the owner. JJ and Lawrence, try talking to the family of the first victim and go from there. Everyone good?" Hotch asked as the plane began to descend to land. The team exchanged glances and nodded in agreement. Within a few minutes they split up, going their separate directions. Spencer hopped in the passenger seat of an SUV with Rossi and they began to navigate through New York City traffic towards the opera house where the murders took place. On the way there, Garcia called.
"Alright, this opera house was founded in the 1880's. It's a part of the Lincoln Center in downtown New York and..."
"It's the largest and oldest Opera House in America with 3,800 seats. They perform twenty seven operas each year and-"
"Oh, well if I knew Reid was in the car I wouldn't have bothered!" Garcia snapped with a sassy tone over the phone. Spencer cringed and smiled guiltily.
"Sorry Garcia. Sometimes I can't turn it off." he apologized. He heard her 'pfft' over the phone. He really couldn't help it sometimes. His eidetic memory kicked in and words slipped out.
"Well the head custodian will meet you there out front. He'll show you around. He's also the one who found the bodies." She informed them, a little hint of annoyance still in her voice.
"Thanks Garcia." Rossi said.
"Garcia out!" she chirped happily once again before the phone clicked off. The cars were dense around them on the streets, more so as they got further into the heart of the city. Lights flashed around them on the tall skyscrapers. Spencer felt a little closed in, but he was used it. It reminded him a bit like a bigger version of Las Vegas.
It took them thirty minutes to just drive down eleven blocks until they finally reached Lincoln Center which was a gathering of multiple theaters and performing arts buildings. The Opera House stood big and proud amonst the buildings. There was a beautiful fountain in front of it, and large arches in front of the entirely glass front wall of the theater. Spencer's first thought was that Evie would absolutely adore it. He'd have to take her here someday. Suddenly remembering about the murders, he thought it might be good to wait a while to do so.
Rossi and Spence met the custodian out front like Garcia had promised. He took them through the huge marble lobby with intricate designs everywhere and into a back hallway that was marked 'Staff Only'. It was much less glamorous back there, creepy even. Spencer shivered while looking at the dim small hallway. He loved creepy 'halloweenish' things, but this really set him on edge.
"This is where we found the first body." the custodian said in a deep scruffy voice. He was a burly man with stubble and a mess of hair on his head. He looked to be about fifty seven and had tired eyes. He introduced himself as Joe Mishoner.
Mishoner had led them into one of the theaters. There were rows and rows of red chairs lined up. There was a huge stage before them with the curtains pulled closed. There were two levels of balconies above their heads and more detailed designs all over the walls and ceilings. It was absolutely breathtaking. Once again, he thought of Evie. She loved this kind of artsy old stuff.
"The CSI is still all over." the custodian told them. Spencer took note of the irritated sound of his voice while looking at the other people in dark windbreakers and white gloves roaming the theater, taking pictures and collected samples.
"Thank you for your help." Rossi said, dismissing Joe. He made eye contact with Spencer and nodded his head over to the place where most of the investigators were gathered around. There was yellow tape marking the place where the body was found.
"Such a shame to happen in such a beautiful place." Rossi said, kneeling besides the place where the body had been less than a day before. "Evelyn would like it here."
"Yeah, that's what I was thinking." Spencer said, continuing to look around. The biggest question was how did someone get into America's most famous theater and kill someone without being noticed. Surely there was tons of security, Spencer knew the exact amount of guards and cameras. It didn't add up.
"Hey, genius." Rossi said, elbowing his side. Spencer snapped his head to the side, realizing Rossi had been calling his name and trying to talk to him for a while. "You're awfully quiet."
"Yeah, no. Just thinking." he said, biting his bottom lip and pulling his eyebrows together. He was aware of Dave still watching him through concerned eyes. He knew that look. Everyone gave him that look ever since the whole torturing incident. He hated that look.
"Are you okay, Reid?" Rossi asked. Spencer mentally sighed. Evie always pressed him on this issue too. He didn't even know the answer himself. Sometimes he was fine but sometimes he could almost feel the hot fire stoker in his back or the knife running across his chest. He remembered the exact feeling of thinking he wouldn't grow old with Evie or his friends. Certain things would bring those memories back and make it feel as if he was back in that old abandoned prison again. Spencer has been denying the idea of PTSD, but somewhere deep down inside of him, he knew he was still a bit traumatized.
"Yeah, fine." he said plainly.
"Spencer, you can't just push it away..."
"I'm fine!" Spencer snapped. He instantly regretted it. He had no idea where that had come from. He turned from Rossi and pretended to be engrossed in the crime scene. Reid still felt Dave's eyes drilling holes into the back of his head. He willed himself not to turn around though. He didn't want people's pity or their help. He could handle it himself.
"Alright." Rossi finally gave in. And with that, they continued to investigate the crime scene.
"I know it's hard. These questions will help us find the man who did this to your husband, however." JJ said, looking at the crying mess of a widowed woman in front of her. The woman nodded and looked like she was trying to keep a strong face, but suddenly she was overtaken with sobs once more. She buried her face in tissues as her body shook with cries of anguish. Evie's heart hurt for her. She couldn't even imagine...
"Why don't we take a break?" JJ suggested, reaching forward to put a hand on the woman's shoulder. The mid-twenties lady looked up at her with grateful red eyes and nodded. JJ looked over at Evs and nodded towards the doorway leading to the kitchen. Evie stood and with one last sympathetic look at the crying woman, she followed JJ out of the room.
"We've been here for fifteen minutes and we still don't have much to go off of." JJ said. She wasn't frustrated, just crest-fallen.
"He has nothing to do the theater and so far the victimology is altogether different. We have a mix of genders, hair color, eye color, and occupations. I wonder if it has anything to do with the Phantom of the Opera." Evie said, thinking out loud. JJ nodded and raised her eyebrows.
"Well if anyone would know it, it'd be you." she said. Evie gave her a small smile. The team always joked that Spencer was the academic nerd and she was the art nerd. "By the way, how's Spence?"
"What about him?" Evie asked, playing dumb. She realized that she was now doing the same thing Spencer did; pretending like nothing was happening when there was obviously something wrong. By the look on JJ's face, she obviously didn't buy it.
"Oh come on, Evie. We all know he's been acting weird. He's distant, he has a short temper, and sometimes he just fades off like he's having flashbacks. Have you talked to him yet?" She asked. Evie sighed and looked down at her hands, playing and chipping off her maroon nail polish. Her and Jennifer had had this conversation before. Whenever she needed something that she couldn't go to Spence for, she'd go to JJ.
"I've tried multiple times. He pushed it away and pretends nothing is wrong. I'm waiting for him to be ready to talk about it."
"Evie, you and I both know Spencer. He won't talk about it." JJ said. Evie knew she was right, she knew that all along but she had no idea what to do about it.
"Alright, I'll try to talk to him again." she said, dropping her arms to her sides and leaning against the counter imagining how she'd ask him.
"Don't be afraid to be more assertive." JJ told her, reaching over and giving her shoulder a squeeze like she had done with the victim's wife a moment ago. Evie looked up and forced a smiled at her. She just wanted her Spencer to be okay.
At the end of the night, the team had advanced further into the case. Evie had figured out that the victims had closely related to the appearance of characters from the Phantom of the Opera. It seemed that the victims had been stalked for a week leading up to their deaths. Spencer was proud of her. She'd really been getting a hang of profiling and victimology and the team in general.
As for how he'd gotten into a theater, they'd figured there was a partner. The accomplice was under his dominant partner as for authority, and didn't take part in the murder. He only helped breaking the unsub in. All leads they had led to the custodian being the accomplice. Spencer couldn't say he was too surprised. Something about his facial expressions and the glare in his eyes showed... fear, almost. Fear of being caught.
It was too late for that however. Rossi and Spencer had him in the interrogation room of the NYPD. It hadn't taken long to get a confession, and still he wouldn't give up the identity of the unsub. He did however, end up giving them almost equally important information. The next murder was tonight. As soon as Rossi was able to squeeze that out of him, Spencer pulled out his phone and called Hotch.
"Reid, what is it?" his boss's voice answered.
"Hotch, the next murder is tonight. The unsub already has a way in. Mishoner still isn't giving up the identity of the unsub. He says if he did, he'd be next." Spencer got everything out in a rushed sentence.
"Alright, we need to get over there qui-" Hotch suddenly stopped in the middle of his sentence. There was a murmer that sounded to be Morgan in the background. Spencer heard Hotch swear under his breath.
"Another body just showed up in the theater. They shut off all exits. He is somewhere in there. Everyone needs to get to the Opera House now. We'll meet you guys down here." Hotch said, not leaving any room for objection. Spencer nodded to himself and hung up, stuffing his phone back into his pocket. He opened the interoggation room door, turning Rossi and Mishoner's heads towards him.
"We need to go. He's in the Opera House." Spencer said. Rossi nodded and followed him out without a word.
The car ride there wasn't as bad as before, especially since they turned on the lights and sirens. It was nearing eleven o'clock now, and the city lights reflected off of everything around them giving Spencer a headache. Rossi sped down the street as Reid continued to think.
"You know... I don't think this is a copycat." Spencer said. Rossi kept his eyes on the road and took a sharp left, slamming Spencer into the car door. He hissed in pain and Rossi muttered an apology before Spencer continued. "His actions and the pure ego and confidence... I think our unsub genuinely thinks he is the Phantom of the Opera. We could be dealing with someone with Schizophrenia." Spencer said, earning a nod from Rossi.
"Makes sense... Didn't the owner have a son with a mental disorder?"
"Yeah... He didn't tell us what though. He seemed to keep anything about his son under wraps."
"Protecting him, maybe?"
"Most likely. It's probably that the owner has a hunch but it to afraid to say so. He really didn't want us there from what I heard from Morgan." Spencer said. "Daniel Arevalo is the son's name. It'd make sense in relation to how he had so many connections to the theater. It'd be easy for him to use Mishoner." Spencer said, realizing morea and more as he talked.
"Call the team." Rossi simply instructed, his attention still on the road. Spencer fished his phone out of his pocket and called Evie first.
"Spence? Where are you?" she asked.
"On our way. We know who the unsub is. Daniel Arevalo."
"The owner's son?"
"That's the one." he said.
"Alright, I'll tell everyone. He is somewhere here, we're sure of it. We're searching now." she said, her voice in a hush as if she was afraid he'd hear. A pang of fear coarsed through Spencer's body. This was her first time in the field with a certified gun qualification. Suddenly he realized he was scared out of his witts.
"Please, please, please be careful." he told her.
"I will, I promise." she said before hanging up. Spencer took a deep breath and tried to reassure himself. He knew she could take care of herself, but he didn't think he'd ever stop worrying. After coming so close to being ripped apart from her, he didn't blame himself.
Once they arrived at the theater, there were tons and tons of cop cars parked out front. People gathered around with their mouths agape while watching the commotion of the securing of the theater. Rossi and Spencer instantly hopped out and grabbed bulletproof vest before walking up the steps to the front door where there was a dense population of guards. Rossi flashed his bag and a man nodded before letting them in.
"Let's take the Staff Only passageway." Rossi said, already making his way to the door they had used earlier. Spencer followed behind, really wishing to just find Evie and not leave her side.
Once back in the small cramped hallway, they drew their guns and checked all corners. They began making their way towards the first door on their left which was another cramped hallway. Spencer felt his heart pounding and kept looking behind them. The concept of the Phantom had always creeped him out before the fact that there was now a real life one on the loose in a locked up theater with them at the moment. He thought of the feeling of him being choked a couple months earlier. The man that had captured them had nearly choken him to death with a rope around his neck. Out of all the torment he had to go through, Spencer remembered that one being one of the most terrifying. When he couldn't get the air he needed and his lungs began to burn, panic really set in. He could feel the rope still around his throat. He imagined it happening again with a man in a white phantom mask from behind him...
"Spencer!" Rossi whispered shrilly. Spencer jerked out of his thoughts and realized he had stopped walking and his eyes were wide as the flashbacks were playing through his mind. He shook his head to rid of the images and cleared his throat.
"Sorry, just tired." he lied. Rossi gave him a look that said he didn't believe that at all, but he turned and kept walking. Spencer followed, pledging to not let that happen again. As they reached the end of the hallway, suddenly there was a large clicking noise and within less then a second, they were bathed in darkness.
Evie and JJ were in the first theater that the first body was found in when all of the sudden the lights went out. It was completely black all around them, filling Evie's chest with fear. As if it wasn't frightening enough searching a giant old opera house for a serial killer lurking in the shadows, now they had to in the darkness.
"JJ?"
"Yeah, I'm here. Hold on." She said. Evie stayed frozed in the same position, imagining a killer that could potentially be only one foot behind her with a noose to strangle her. She felt her hands shaking, so she tightened them on her gun. She couldn't chicken out. She chouldn't.
A small light flashed on, shining a beam of light towards a group of chairs in the crowd. Evie looked over to see what look to be a flashlight that JJ held from beside her. It created an eerie light illuminating small parts of the theater. JJ shined it around them. Evie half expected it to fall upon the sudden silhoette of a man, but nothing like that happened. Something even worse did.
With a crash, the flashlight clanked to the ground and the sound of JJ's gasp filled the air. Evie shrieked and whipped around, pointing her gun in the direction JJ was in. She couldn't shoot though. She obviously could hit Jayge.
With a powering up type of whine, the lights came back on revealing a man with slicked back hair in dark clothes holding JJ in front of him, a noose wrapped loosely around her neck. Evie's eyes widened and she began shaking again. There was a crazy look in his eye, but Evie could only see one. The other was shadowed by the white half-mask the unsub wore. Daniel was his name. So Spencer was right.
"Daniel, let her go. You don't need to do this." Evie's instincts told her to say. She'd seen the team negotiate with killers before, but the only time she'd done it was in the spur of the moment the one time Spencer was being held at gun point. At least in this situation, if he began to choke JJ, she'd have time to shoot before he could kill her. Unfortunately, she thought too soon. From his back pocket, the man took out a gun and held it to her head.
"Stop! If you do this, I'll have to shoot. You don't want to die, do you Daniel?"
"My name is NOT Daniel!" he boomed, his voice echoing off the large spacious walls of the theater. Evie cringed and looked into JJ's terrified eyes that were watching her, knowing that Evie was her only hope. Something about her gaze was almost comforting Evie though. Even at gunpoint JJ was comforting her.
"The Phantom wouldn't kill like this. You know that. You are the Phantom of the Opera, are you not?" Evie asked. Daniel seemed to slacken just a bit. He didn't respond but let his arm fall from around JJ's waist and neck. JJ let out a relieved breath and stumbled forward, yanking the rope noose over her head, throwing it aside. Evie was about to step forward and handcuff the man, but once again she made assumptions too soon.
"No!" the man yelled. "You, get out." he said to JJ, pointing his gun towards the exit for a moment, then pointing it at Evie.
"I can't do that, Daniel." she began to say, but he shouted over her.
"Now! Or she dies." he demanded, thrusting the gun forward at Evie again. They were three feet apart and she couldn't be more terrified, but she couldn't show that.
"It's okay JJ." Evie told her. She glanced over at her friend to see her give her a reluctant look before she made her way towards the door. The sound of it opening echoed through the air as the JJ left, leaving Evie with the so called "Phantom". She knew JJ would go get back up, but how long could she stall until then?
"I know how lonely you are Daniel. I know all about you." Evie said, and it was partially true. She had watched the Phantom of the Opera countless times and researched all about the creation of the character and the nature of Webber's writing. She hoped she could keep him interested before it was too late. If there was one thing she knew about the Phantom's character, he felt no remorse for relentless killing.
"No one understands." he breathed in a raspy voice.
"I do. I know how it feels to be alone. I promise you, you're not." she told him. His eyes softened for only a moment before they grew cold again. His finger moved just a bit on the trigger, making Evie's heart jump. She didn't know how much longer she could keep this up.
"JJ?" Spencer said, turning to see Jayge pushing through the doors that led the the first theater they had visited with the custodian. Her hair was a mess and her eyes were wide with fear. Instantly, Spencer knew something was wrong. "Wh- Where's Evie?" he asked, not sure if he wanted to hear the answer.
"The unsub... he- he attacked in the dark. Evie's still in there, he said he'd shoot her if I didn't get out. We need back up immediately." she said as if she was trying to catch her breath. Spencer couldn've sworn he felt his heart stop in that moment. Evie was alone with an unsub at gunpoint. Wait a minute, what was JJ thinking?
"JJ! How could you leave her?" he asked, his voice raising a few octaves with frustration. She looked at him through wide eyes that were filled with guilt and regret. He didn't care at the moment. His Evie was in there.
"Spence... I'm sorry... I didn't know what else to do-" she tried to explain. Rossi cut in, stepping in between Spencer and JJ, his hands held out in defense.
"Alright, calm down. It's not her fault and you know it. You did the right thing, JJ." Rossi said. Spencer scoffed and pushed past them both, gripping his gun tighter to reassure that it was there. He headed towards the double doors leading into the theater, not caring what danger he was walking into. Something told him it was a bad idea, but he wasn't thinking straight anyway.
An arm stopped him. Rossi had halted his steps towards the theater as he stepped in front of him, blocking his path. Spencer's first instinct was to be angry. He tensed, only wanting to get in there to help her.
"Spencer, think this through. You going in there could only potentially get both of you killed. JJ is running to get reinforcements." Rossi explained in a calm manner. He could've been Morgan Freeman for all Spencer cared. No matter how calm he said it, he needed to get in there now.
"What if she doesn't have time Rossi?" Spencer said forcefully, on the verge of shouting. He suddenly heard himself, hearing how rash he sounded. Before he could even apologize the sound of a gunshot filled the air and stopped him cold in his tracks.