Note: Oof! Long time no see! Sorry about that vague gap over the last few months. Here's a full-fledged chapter, which will, hopefully, satisfy your cravings.
CHAPTER SIX
THE TEXAS DRILLER CASE
Over the next few weeks, Spencer and Sadie met at the coffee-shop that had been their cupid, every day for their morning cups of coffee. Spencer had noticed that she no longer carried around the same copy of Nine Stories, instead, he saw a new title under her arm almost everyday. Some days, he even saw a large yellow notepad with a pencil tucked in the book, with scribbles in them, as if she were making notes. They also met to have dinner, or go to an art gallery, zoo or museum whenever Spencer mustered up the courage to ask. Sadie, although she never asked him out to such places, invited him over for a hand-cooked meal.
Soon, July was gone and August came and it really was fall, with red and yellow leaved trees lining the roads. One Saturday, when Spencer was sitting at the counter in Sadie's apartment, eating dinner and telling her about his friends' prank earlier in the week, his cellphone rang.
"Hello?" he said. It was Garcia, they had a serial killer in Galveston, Texas needing urgent attention.
"I'll be right in" he said, then sighed as he hung up.
"Is this the skipping away you spoke of?" Sadie enquired, smiling slightly. Spencer smiled apologetically and finished the last of his pasta.
"I'm sorry" he said, "Sometimes, these pyschopaths have really the worst timing! It's our first night out in the whole week and you've cooked such excellent pasta and I was really looking forward to seeing that new episode of Doctor Who that's going to air tonight and these psychopaths really can't control their tendencies till Monday morning!" he scolded.
Sadie laughed heartily. She tended to do that, around Spencer and leaned forward to kiss his cheek.
"I'll still be here when you get back" she promised, her hand leaning on his thigh, "I'll tape that episode for you so we can watch it when you get back?" she suggested, "Besides, psychopaths are fun to catch, aren't they?"
Spencer smiled, leaned down and kissed the top of her head, he was used to this much physical contact.
"Yeah, I suppose you do have a point" he said. Sadie pulled away from him.
"Here, I made a huge batch of blueberry muffins, take them with you" she offered, standing up and skipping to the refrigerator and pulling out a tray.
"That isn't very many" he admitted, counting 4X4, 16 muffins. Then, Sadie pulled out another tray and another.
"That's too many" he claimed, realising he wouldn't be able to carry them all.
"I'll wrap them up for you while you pick up your things" she offered. Spencer stood and washed his plate, or had started to, when she scolded him to pick up his things, that she'd get his plate, then, he went into the living room where his bag and coat lay. He picked them up and noticed the stuffed white rabbit on the laZboy again.. He went over and picked it up, it was pretty old, looked hand-made, but very clean, as if it had been washed every time it got too dirty. There were even some threads coming off from all the washing.
"Here" Sadie said, handing him a large cardboard box that she'd probably got from buying a large cake. Spencer handed her the rabbit.
"He seems old" he said. Sadie hugged the rabbit.
"Mr. Whiskers isn't old" she said, "He's only 19!" she claimed. Spencer smiled at her.
"Mr. Whiskers?" he asked. Sadie shrugged.
"I was five" she pointed out, "besides, he's got whiskers" she informed, pointing to the sewed on black threads on the side of the rabbit's face. Spencer smiled.
"Ok" he agreed, still smiling widely at how cute she sounded. Sadie hugged the little rabbit tightly as he leaned forward to kiss her forehead.
"Take care" he said, "I'll be back soon" he added. Sadie nodded, following him to the door. When he stood there, still unsure if he wanted to leave her and go away to Texas, of all places, he watched Sadie stand beside him. She looked up at him with her sparkly green eyes, leaned up and gave him a quick peck on the lips, a first for them both.
"Take care" she mumbled, looking down. Spencer was keenly aware that her cheeks, face, ears and neck were all stained red. Spencer felt himself flush red too, as he nodded, mumbled an incoherent reply, and left.
When Spencer arrived at work, he felt very angry at the psychopath for ruining his perfectly good date with Sadie. In fact, he felt so angry, he was frowning when he entered the conference hall, much to surprise of his team-mates.
"Look who woke up on the wrong side of his bed" JJ joked as Spencer sat down, not before putting the large muffin-box, as he'd started calling it in his mind, in the middle of the table.
"What's this?" Morgan asked, looking at it curiously.
"Blueberry muffins" Spencer replied, "Courtesy of Sadie" he added. Everyone knew Sadie. Morgan and JJ had even had the pleasure of meeting her in person, even seeing her jumping behind Spencer for cover.
"Lucky!" Morgan said, opening the box and handing them out to the rest of them. Garcia came in and claimed two for herself, feeling incredibly happy that they could have such a delicious snack right before they saw some gruesome murder photos. Hotch came in and they all settled to listen to the case. Spencer found himself getting distracted as he stared at the muffin in his hand. It was cream-coloured with a few blueberries stuck in the top. He knew Sadie to cook well, seeing as she lived alone. He'd never had anything she'd baked before though and he had been looking forward to eating it with her, because she'd told him about it specifically when she'd called him over.
"Oi, lover-boy" Morgan called, "We're collecting our stuff and heading to the jet. Want to join us?" Morgan teased. Spencer shook out of his reverie.
"Yes, sorry about that" he said, shaking his head. Morgan grinned.
"Yeah, a girl can do that to you" he admitted, "Come on, let's go, I'll brief you on the way" he added, helpfully.
Spencer heard the tale. Three women killed in the last month, all working women, all low-risk, all with families. The murderer caught them on their way home from work, took them to his "evil lair" in Morgan's exact words, raped them, then killed them post-coitus. Then, tossed them near the garbage cans close to where he'd found them. All in a matter of days. Each victim had been skinned, like the UnSub was trying to make a woman-suit made from their skins.
"Woman-suit?" Spencer blurted aloud. Morgan looked at him.
"That's a possibility" Morgan agreed, having already discussed that in the conference room.
"Right" Spencer said, looking over the files, his mind completely absorbed in the case now. Morgan grinned at him.
"Was she angry that you had to leave?" he asked. Spencer stopped scanning the pictures, looking up at Morgan.
"Sadie?" Morgan asked.
"She seemed alright" Spencer said, "She even made sure I didn't get too upset about it"
Morgan nodded.
"You should call her tomorrow, maybe ask her if she's angry, or something?" he suggested. Spencer nodded, thanking him, then, they went to the jet.
The ideas went back and forth. Their best bet, at the moment, was a woman-suit. Probably a man with gender-identity disorder. They needed to see the crime-scenes to make better deductions. Spencer was put together with Blake and he was glad it wasn't JJ, who would've teased him too much, nor Morgan, who would've been too brotherly. He just needed to be by himself, at the moment. Blake was good with that. She only pried when she saw clear signs that meant it wanted to be pried.
"It looks as if she went without a struggle..." Blake deduced sharply, noticing the open locks, the clean car, no damages.
"Maybe she was threatened?" Spencer suggested, "A gun or a knife?"
"Hmmm" she agreed, looking through, "Doesn't look like he was inside though. He must have come from the side, pointed the gun at her and told her to get out of the car"
"Yes" Spencer agreed, catching on to her trail of thought, "It would seem like a robbery, so perhaps she complied so he'd leave her and take the car. Instead, he leaves the car, over-powers her and takes her to his lair" he finished.
"Lair?" Blake repeated, amused. Spencer inwardly cursed Morgan's use of the word. It had stuck with him.
"Sorry" he mumbled. Blake shook her head, still smiling with amusement.
"Don't be. It sounds evil" she agreed, grinning wide.
"I'll need a map of the areas where all three abductions took place and where victims were found" Spencer asked the detective, who nodded and obliged.
"Let's go back to the station, see what the others found at forensics" Blake suggested.
As soon as he saw the maps, Spencer realised that they all overlapped. He quickly became busy with making a larger map on the notice board and marking the sites of abduction and where the victims were found. All six areas were within a thirty mile radius in the heart of the city.
"The victims were all raped by the same man" JJ offered, arriving in the office, "M.E. even found semen on their person, she's running a DNA trace now. C.O.D is the huge gaping hole on the side of her head, possibly from a driller"
"What about the skinning?" Spencer asked.
"All skinned post-mortem, resemble something from a slaughter-house" Morgan offered.
More ideas came flooding forward.
He could've been working at a slaughter-house. He could know these women personally. He could've met them at their workplaces, or coffeeshops.
"But, there's one problem" Hotch pointed out, making the team still in their places, "We still don't know what it is that overlaps in these three women and how he's hunting them"
Spencer stared at the map he'd drawn again, then down at the original.
"What if the fact that they all have low-risk lives is the over-lap?" he suggested, eyes wide as the adrenaline surged through his veins.
"He's seeking them out, successful women, married women, mothers" he said, and he could see the others saw his point.
"He's not just making a woman-suit" Morgan breathed in shock. Spencer nodded.
"He's making a mother-suit" he finished.
"Garcia, look up all recent deaths of woman in the area who've left behind children, probably raised without a father-figure, or an insignificant one" Hotch commanded.
"Right away, sir!" Garcia complied through the speaker, glad to have found something to work on.
"It still doesn't point to anything in particular" Blake realised.
"We still need to find their common point" Rossi muttered.
"Good job, pretty boy" Morgan said, slapping a hand on his shoulder as the others scattered to gather more information. Spencer beamed.
"Thanks, Morgan" he admitted, "That felt pretty good"
Morgan grinned.
"Go, take a break" Morgan commanded, "It's morning in D.C., call her up" he added, when Spencer opened his mouth to protest.
"I don't think she'll mind" Spencer voiced. Morgan smiled.
"She's a good kid" Morgan said, "You don't want to lose her. So, go; call her" he commaded. Spencer nodded, then left.
It was after the fifth ring that Sadie answered, then yawned into the phone.
"This had better be important" she hissed as she answered the phone, her voice low and cracking. Spencer smiled a little at how she tried to sound intimidating.
"Sadie, good morning" he said, "Did I wake you?" he asked. Sadie grunted into the phone.
"Why are you calling so early, Spencer!" she scolded, very childishly, then yawned, "It's barely six!" she mumbled. Spencer smiled.
"I'm sorry" he admitted, "I thought it was much later" he told her truthfully. Sadie yawned again.
"How is Texas?" she asked, seemingly awake now.
"Hot" he concluded shortly. Sadie yawned again.
"I'm sorry about leaving like that last night" Spencer started, having practised his speech in his head for ten minutes before calling her.
"Oi, don't bother!" she said, cutting him short, "It's fine. I'll practice baking until you get back, so be ready to try a variety of cakes when you return" she said. Spencer smiled.
"Ok" he agreed.
"I'll cook you dinner if you come here instead of going back to your flat to crash?" she offered.
"I'll take you up on that" he promised. She laughed.
"Alright, then" she said, "Go back to work. Catch the psycho and come back soon" she ordered.
"Yes, Ma'am" he agreed.
"Bye, love" she said, then hung up. Spencer stared at the phone as it beeped to notify that the call had ended. Rossi found him like that seven minutes later, still staring at his phone like he were a statue.
"Reid, you ok?" Rossi asked. Spencer shook out of his trance and looked at Rossi. Then, he blurted out the issue he was dealing with: Sadie's inappropriate use of words that meant more than she meant them to.
"She said, 'Bye, love!' What does that mean?" he enquired, sounding horrified, "Has she fallen in love with me? Or is it a form of endearment? Maybe she hopes I fall in love with her?" he rambled, as Rossi sipped his latte in amusement, but his face devoid of any such expression.
"That, Reid" Rossi informed as Spencer took a breath, "Is the women's way of keeping you on edge. Every woman I've ever known has done it and so should this one" he concluded. Spencer scowled.
"But, Sadie's not that type of woman. She's much younger" he said, "And she's more like me" he admitted, only then realising how alike they were.
"It's in their genes" Rossi said, "Two X's. Those genes are over-rated, I tell ya" he said, then walked away, leaving Spencer alone and wondering why he had to pick Rossi of all people for advice on dating.
Spencer stalked back to the makeshift HQ room and stared at the white board, his mind distracted from the case. When Morgan walked into the room with JJ a half hour later, Spencer was still sitting and staring at the white board. Morgan half-wondered if Sadie had been upset about the sudden trip that Spencer had had to take. JJ, however, not wanting to talk about personal issues in the middle of a case, stopped Morgan before he could say anything about Spencer's sullenness.
"Spence, another woman was kidnapped" JJ said, breaking Spencer's concentration and distracting him from his inner turmoil. Spencer stood up, wide awake and alert.
"Who? Where?" he asked shortly, picking up the marker and walking to the board with the maps.
Morgan offered the woman's name, address, workplace and place of kidnapping. Spencer stared at the map after he'd marked that off. By this time, Hotch and the rest of the team had arrived.
"The time between the kidnappings and the time of finding the bodies is 40 to 50 hours" Hotch stated.
"Which just means we have a little over two days to find and rescue her" Rossi offered, not quite as helpfully as he'd hoped.
"Well, what do we know about this guy?" JJ said, asking the right question.
"He's a white male" Morgan said, "females don't show this degree of sadism, and psychopaths tend to stick to their own race" he offered.
"He's recently lost a mother, or a motherly figure" Blake stated, "someone who had a deep impact on him and was probably the only close personal contact he's ever known. A single-parent family is most likely"
"There could be history of child abuse" Spencer offered, "Abuse-victims, especially males, are known to have a higher rate of turning out to be sadists"
"I guess we're ready to give out the profile" Hotch concluded, looking all his team-members in the eye before standing up and making his way out. The rest of them followed.
After they'd given out the profile and had Garcia look into every possible place that could offer a working space for a psychopath, the team looked back through all the details, so that they hadn't missed out on anything.
Garcia's call, a few hours later, came as a relief to them, for she had a list of the most likely suspects.
"Thirty four guys?" Morgan said with disbelief, feeling the list to be too long.
"Garcia, did you cross-reference them with those that have recently lost a parent?" Hotch enquired.
"Yes, sir" she responded swiftly.
"Garcia, how many of them live or work, within a thirty-mile radius of the first abduction?" Spencer asked.
"Uh" Garcia started, the sounds of typing were heard in the background as she paused, "Fourteen" she offered.
"Of them, how many own or rent a property in the countryside?" Spencer asked, and to the questioning looks of his teammates offered, "he'd have to have had a secluded place in his childhood and adolescence, if he was a victim of abuse, or if he were testing out his sadism on animals" he informed. JJ looked surprised that Spencer had come to that conclusion with that much data.
"That gives us three" Garcia said, then the team divided and went to each of the addresses that Garcia had sent them on their phones.
It was Blake and Morgan that caught the suspect and found the woman who'd been abducted less than thirty hours earlier, dehydrated and abused, chained to wall in the man's basement. By the time, Spencer had arrived at the crime scene, the suspect had been taken away and the victim was in the back of an ambulance, on the way to a hospital. As he looked through the house, gathering evidence, Spencer found something neither him, nor the team had expected to find: a body in the freezer.
"That looks like his aunt" JJ offered, pulling up the photo of the recently deceased woman on her tablet, that Garcia had sent her. Spencer frowned at the woman, who looked peaceful, like she'd died when she'd slept.
"That's disturbing" he commented. JJ frowned at her friend.
"Yes, definitely" she agreed, as the M.E. came to take photos.
As the team packed their stuff to go back, Morgan looked at the confused expression on Spencer's face.
"Is she mad?" Morgan asked, "Sadie?" he added, when Spencer looked up. He shook his head.
"She's not mad, surprisingly" he admitted, "But she's acting strange" he added, then told him about the conversation he'd had with her on the phone. Morgan looked at Spencer as the latter finished his narrative. Then, laughed. Not just snickered, laughed aloud, prompting looks from the rest of the team.
"She's English" Morgan offered. Spencer scowled.
"She's Irish, and that would've offended her" he informed. Morgan shook his head.
"Isn't that how they speak?" Morgan said, ignoring Spencer's reaction, "Love, darlin' and all that other stuff they say on TV with the accents?" he said. Spencer suddenly realised it was, in fact, as Morgan had pointed out. She was Irish, of course they spoke like that! It made sense!
"I see" he agreed, "So, I needn't worry about the declarations of love, the need to find an engagement ring, or to book a chapel?" Spencer enquired.
"Not yet, kid" Morgan said, grinning, "But you'll get there, soon enough" he added.
"Thanks, Morgan" he admitted truthfully. Morgan grinned and went on his way, occassionally bursting into a fit of chuckles. Spencer pulled out his phone and called Sadie.
"Hello?" he said.
"Hi, Spencer" she said, "Are you heading to bed?" she asked.
"Uh, no" he admitted, "We finished the case, we're heading back" he said.
"Right now?" she asked, as if wide awake.
"Yeah, the jet leaves in 20" he admitted, "It's late, you should go to bed, I'll see you tomorrow, alright?" he said.
"No, no!" she said, a bit loudly, "Come here! I'll make pasta!" she said, sounding suddenly enthusiastic. Spencer smiled.
"It's already ten, Sadie" he said, "It'll be so late, it'll be early when I get there"
"So, I'll buy us some coffee" she offered. Spencer smiled.
"Ok, I'll call you when the jet lands. If you're asleep, I won't come by, deal?" he said.
"Ok, deal" she agreed, "See you soon"
Spencer smiled as she hung up and he stared at the phone. She was so adorable! Humming to himself, he finished packing up and went out, a spring in his step as he thought of Sadie and her pasta.
"You seem incredibly happy" JJ noted as they strapped themselves in on the jet.
"Sadie's cooking me pasta for when I get back" he said, sounding happier than he meant to, considering the look JJ was giving him.
"I hope you're not pushing her too much" JJ warned, "She doesn't seem the normal type"
Spencer frowned, already fully aware that Sadie was not normal. Her life was as abnormal as it could possibly get.
"I know" he replied instead, "She invited me, even after I told her it would be too late"
JJ smiled.
"In that case, Spence, have fun" she encouraged with a smile, "And enjoy the damn pasta!"
Spencer smiled and decided to catch a few winks before they landed.
Spencer stared at his phone as the rest to the team disembarked. He half-hoped Sadie was asleep and so he could go home and sleep in his own bed. Another half of him wondered if she'd made green sauce or puttanesca. Then, deciding that in a moment he'd know, he called her. On the third ring, she answered.
"Shall I see you in an hour?" she asked, sounding amused.
"Yeah, approximately" he mumbled sheepishly.
"Alright, then" she said, then hung up. Spencer went out, following his team to their office.
"Hello" Sadie greeted, opening the door for him. Spencer smiled back.
"Hi" Spencer answered, following her into the apartment.
"I've switched on the hot water" she offered, "I've even kept out some fresh clothes. I hope they fit" she added, retreating towards the kitchen. Spencer hung his jacket, put his bag behind the couch and went towards the bath, down the corridor, second door on the right. He noticed the clothes she placed on the shelf, large t-shirt and pyjama pants, obviously her brother's. He didn't mind. They had been washed and ironed too.
When Spencer returned from the bath, he found Sadie sitting in her laZboy, reading a book, while clutching Mr. Whiskers. She read a lot, he'd noticed. It became difficult making conversation with her. He'd returned from the bath bare-footed, like Sadie often was at home, even now.
"Sadie" he called. Sadie blinked up at him and smiled, putting down the rabbit, but carrying her book.
"I made puttanesca" she offered as they walked to the counter where they usually had their meals, "I hope you don't mind" she added. Spencer stared as she watched him too. He wrapped his arms around her, hugging her tightly. He felt her arms circle around his torso and squeeze him tightly.
"I'm ok" he told her, "You worried, didn't you?" he asked. Sadie breathed against his chest.
"Of course" she said, "especially since you were out looking for a psychopath!" she exclaimed dramatically. Spencer laughed at how genuinely worried she sounded, while also childish, at the same time.
"I'm ok" he reassured her.
"I know" she admitted, "Thank the Gods" she added, pulling away, looking red in the cheeks. Spencer knew that one reason for it was her outburst. He sat down, gesturing her to do the same and ate his meal in silence. Sadie read her book. A book for young adults, Spencer noted, while not saying anything.
"I've made up the guest bedroom for you to sleep in" Sadie said as he neared the end of his pasta, "Fresh covers, cushions and a new flower I plucked from the back garden"
By 'back garden', Sadie meant a rectangular pot that sat on her windowsill in the study. It had a small flowering shrub called the Madagascar periwinkle. It bloomed white five-petaled flowers throughout the year, or so she'd claimed.
"Thank you" he answered, "That will be good" he added. Sadie smiled.
"This way" she lead, after she'd cleaned up the plates, going down the hallway until they reached the end and then turned left. The lights were on and the general hue of the room was blue, Spencer could tell.
"I'll be in the living" she informed Spencer walked around the room, exploring it, "So, if you need anything, just call for me"
"I'll be fine" he promised, walking back towards her. Sadie nodded.
"Alright" she agreed, still clutching her book tightly, "Good night, Spencer" she wished, leaning up to kiss his cheek. Spencer leant down and kissed her forehead.
"Sleep well, Sadie" he replied. Sadie smiled, then stumbled out the room and back to the living room. Spencer sat on the edge of his bed and wondered why, when they had a guest room, her brother would convert the study into a room for her? Pushing such thoughts out of his mind, he went to bed, deciding that he'd wake up early and buy Sadie coffee and perhaps make her breakfast too.
Was the case too much like Silence of the lambs?
Was the interaction between the team, ok?
Let me know what you think!
Please, review!