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Chapter Eight.
Morgan stood by the table, his focus on looking at the coronary reports from each of the murders.
"Reid, each of these victims are wiped clean. The killer left no signature and the cuts are almost surgical." He walked over to the board and pinned up each of the photos.
"That's what I've noticed, the cuts are smooth clean lines. Not only would this person need to have some knowledge of human anatomy but to be able to drain the victims of all their blood the unsub would need something to hang them upside down."
"Upside down?" Morgan looked at him and Reid pointed to the image of one of the victim's ankles, very faint bruises showing against the skin.
"The unsub needed to hang them upside down to make sure all the blood left the body. It's common practice in butchering animals, such as pigs and cows." He paused, moving to look at another image. "The unsub cut the carotid first, then each of the radials and finally the femoral artery. Each of these deaths would have been extremely quick."
Morgan sighed, turning away from the images to see Hotch and Rossi enter.
"Got something?" Morgan asked and Rossi shook his head.
"Each of the victims simply dropped off the map, nobody saw or heard anything suspicious and there's no sign of forced entry in the homes."
"So, the victims knew the Unsub?" Reid asked, looking at Hotch.
"Maybe or trusted them enough to let them in the house."
I walked from the car alongside Prentiss, the heat of the sun starting make my skin feel like someone had poured boiling lava on it. I pulled at the collar of my shirt, a layer of sweat starting to appear on my face.
"Seriously... How can people deal with this heat?! I feel like I'm in a freaking oven." I quickened my pace and pushed through the door of the station, Prentiss making what seemed to be laughing sounds behind me. "I think I'm dying..."
"Oh stop being so dramatic." She looked at me and her eyebrows raised.
"What...? You have that expression of someone whose noticed something bad..." I dabbed at my face, allowing the air-conditioning to cool me down.
"It's nothing. We should really get this letter back to the team." Prentiss walked through the station and into the room at the back. I just watched her as she walked, a few officers in the station looking at me briefly with a slight smile. I followed her in and Morgan drew a big grin across his face.
"Whoa... Clara what happened to your face?" Reid said and I licked my lips, crossing my arms.
"What exactly is wrong with my face Dr Reid?"
Rossi smiled, shaking his head.
"Red." Morgan said.
"Yes?"
"No Red, your face is red." Morgan laughed and my eyes widened.
"You're kidding..."
JJ walked in and looked at me. "Jeez you need to get some sun screen." She handed me a pocket mirror and I groaned as I saw my reflection, my cheeks and nose a rather bright shade of red.
"Great..."
I looked at Prentiss as she took out the letter that Jessie gave us. "Jessie and Sarah's father received this days before they found him dead." I rummaged in my bag and took out some Aloe Vera gel, slathering it on my face and feeling instant bliss, just like water on a fire.
"The officers spoke to the girls, they never mentioned any letter before." Hotchner spoke, taking the letter from Prentiss.
"They didn't trust them, didn't know them. They were scared Sir." I added, taking a sip of water from one of the fresh bottles on the table.
"And they trusted you?" Rossi asked, causing me to look at Prentiss which caused her to jump back in to the conversation.
"Both of us, we spoke to them – listened to them. Maybe it was because we were female, less threatening." I nodded in agreement to her comment, looking back at the letter as Hotchner handed it to me.
"Well good work, both of you. Rossi, Morgan and Prentiss – go see if any of the other children received a letter similar to this. If so, this could be the first sign of the victim's being targeted." Hotchner spoke, his eyes watching me for a moment before he looked at Reid. "Reid, can you get this over to Garcia and see if we can get any prints off it. Also take a copy to analyze it, see if you can gather any information to what kind of killer we have."
Reid nodded and I handed him the letter, my eyes turning to Hotchner for my order. "JJ are you all set with handling the media? As soon as we give a profile I'll need you giving the press conference. We need to make sure the single parents out there are aware that they are the ones being targeted."
"I'm already on it." JJ replied before her phone rang, causing her to leave the room.
"And what do you want me to do?" I stood, walking up to stand beside him. Before he could speak JJ walked back into the room.
"Sir... We have another body."
Hotchner looked at me and I walked with him out the room with Reid following behind us. My mind was already on what we were going to see, it was silly but now we have a new victim it may give us another shot to view the scene differently. Photo's don't seem to give you everything, it's always better to view it with your own eyes.
When I stepped out the car, Morgan threw a FBI baseball cap at me – causing me to flinch before I caught it. "You'll need that, don't want you bursting into flames."
"I'm ginger... Not a vampire." I pulled on the hat gratefully and followed the team into the house, my eyes trying to avoid the little boy who was crying in the arms of one of the police officers who arrived first on the scene. Don't need to show the whole team that this case is a little too close to home.
As I walked in the strong smell of bleach hit my senses, causing my face to wrinkle. "That's excessive." I muttered, walking into the living room and seeing the victim. She was quite a beautiful woman, her dark hair twisting in big curls past her shoulders, her previous olive toned skin now more of an ashy grey.
"Have we got an estimate of how long she's been dead for?" I asked, Rossi shaking his head.
"Not yet, Hotch wanted us to be the first one to examine the scene."
"That makes sense." I began looking around the house, pictures hung on the wall and it was tidy. Although I'm not sure if that was the mother's choice or the Unsubs.
"Davis, go ask the son if he received a letter. We will search in here." Hotchner asked, his eyes scanning the surroundings.
"Sir maybe it would be..."
He cut me off before I could finish. "Is there a problem?"
I licked my lips and adjusted my hat, "No, not at all."
"Well then, go interview the boy."
Prentiss squeezed my arm as she moved past me and I kept my eyes down as I left the house, moving toward the boy who was now sat in the back of a police vehicle.
"Hey there, my name is Clara. What's yours?" I moved into a crouch, smiling at the boy.
"H-henry..." He stuttered and I briefly gazed at the officer beside me.
"Mind giving me a minute?"
She nodded and left me alone with the boy. "I just wanted to ask you a couple of questions, is that okay with you Henry?" He nodded quickly and I shuffled on the spot. " I was just wanting to know if your mother received a letter? It would've been in a handwritten envelope? No stamp."
He sat there quietly for a moment before he nodded again slowly. "Yeah, I came home the other day after school and mummy was crying..."
"Crying?"
"Mummy was sad, I saw the letter on the table but she wouldn't tell me why it made her cry." Henry started to cry and I took in a shaky breath. Do not start crying in front of everyone Clara. Stay composed.
"And do you know where your mummy put the letter?" My voice croaked slightly and I tried to disguise it with a cough.
"Where she puts all her letters, in the draw under the sink." He used his sleeve to wipe his nose and I pulled out a tissue out my back pocket, handing it to him.
"I'm truly sorry about you mother Henry..."
"I don't want you to be sorry, I just want my mummy back..." He started crying quite loudly now and I swallowed deeply, my heart sinking again.
"I know you do sweetie... I know." The officer returned and I smiled at her. "Thank you for your help Henry." I walked away from him and back into the house, tears pricking at the corner of my eyes.
"The draw under the sink..." I coughed again, my voice breaking. Thank god Morgan gave me this hat because it means I can hide my eyes.
"You okay Clara?" Reid asked and I nodded.
"Of course, absolutely fine." I paused, watching Rossi take the letter out the draw. "Henry said he found his mother crying when she read it."
"Did he mention anything else?" Hotchner asked.
"Only that he wanted his mum back." They all went silent a moment and I walked to stand on the porch, my eyes watching the car leave with Henry inside. This Unsub was targeting them and for what? For revenge? I sighed and leaned against the pillar – listening to the conversation going on inside. This person couldn't be perfect, they must've made a mistake at some point and if we don't find it soon then we are going to have a lot more parentless children on our hands.