The last tendrils of summer had faded into fall. The leaves had not yet fallen from the trees but had started to take on a golden hue. Spencer stepped inside the police precinct of the Tennessee police department, the warm air instantly hitting him in the face. He smiled and closed his eyes as he took it in. The tip of his nose and his cheeks were pink from the crisp air outside. Emily edged past him and paced towards the front desk, slapping her badge down on the top. An older woman with auburn hair tied back into a loose bun at the back of her head glanced up.
"I'm SSA Prentiss. This is Dr Reid," Emily turned back to Spencer who gave a tight lipped smile and a quick wave. The woman came to her feet and rested a hand on the handle of her glock.
"Ah, the BAU. I've been expecting you. I'm Captain Mitchell." The officer glanced past Spencer, "I thought there were more of you."
"There are. I've sent them to canvas the crime scenes," responded Emily.
"CSU already done that."
"Yes, but we profile the crime scene and gain psychological clues about what happened. The crime scene will often tell us more about the unsub than just physical evidence," answered Spencer quickly. Captain Mitchell raised an eyebrow.
"Uh huh. Unsub?"
"Unknown subject." Emily glanced between the police captain and her younger agent who appeared to be shifting from foot to foot uncomfortably.
"Do you have somewhere we can set up?" asked Emily, desperate to break the tension in the room.
"Sure." Captain Mitchell led the pair to a small, stuffy back room that had two blank wipe boards set up. Spencer made a beeline for one of them, setting his satchel down on the floor and pinning up a map of Tennessee, "Anything you need, just shout." Captain Mitchell turned on a dime and left Emily and Spencer alone. Spencer had already started to press pins into the crime scenes on the map. Emily seated herself next to him and drummed her fingertips against the table top.
"Reid? Is everything okay?" asked Emily gently.
"Yeah," Spencer's shoulders visibly slumped, still facing the board, "No. Not really. This case is giving me a bad feeling, I just don't know why."
"I'm sure it'll be fine, Spence. Are you sleeping?" Spencer turned his head to glance over his shoulder, curls bouncing against his cheek.
"Yeah. I mean, I guess." Spencer turned fully and slumped into the chair beside Emily, "I'm still having nightmares from being in prison." Emily reached over and rested her palm on the back of Spencer's hand. Spencer's eyes shifted from the floor, to the hand, then up to Emily's face. A deep sadness was hidden behind the hazel orbs. Emily smiled softly and patted his hand.
"I'll go grab us some coffee. Let's see if we can narrow down this geo profile." Emily wordlessly got up from the table and exited the room. Spencer turned his head to look at the map.
David and Tara were the first to return from their crime scene walk. Both appeared to be deep in conversation, carrying disposable cups of coffee. Spencer had his back to the door, his left arm folded across his chest and his right elbow resting against his wrist. His fingers danced over his bottom lip, his eyes narrowed in thought. Coloured pins dotted the map. Tara glanced up at Spencer. His shoulders appeared tense.
"Hey, Reid," announced Tara. Spencer whirled around, eyes wide but his arms remaining firmly planted in place. David quirked an eyebrow at the seemingly confused genius.
"How's the geo profile coming?" asked David. Spencer turned back to the map. Using his index finger, he traced a circle around all three pins indicating the crime scenes.
"I've narrowed it down to this area. It's around a fifteen mile radius. This is definitely the unsub's comfort zone, so I think it's likely he lives in this area too. What did you find?" Spencer twisted around and reached down for his coffee. He sipped it, eyes fixed on the pair before him.
"He used an accelerant of some sort. The fire department aren't sure which sort yet," answered David. Spencer nodded slightly.
"We have to be looking for someone in their thirties or forties. It would take someone strong to incapacitate four people at once," shrugged Tara.
"I don't think we're looking for a serial arsonist here. Most deaths from arson attacks are generally accidental. Fire is intended to be the COD with these deaths. Fire is the signature. We just need to figure out why. I still think we're looking for someone who's lost their own family in a fire, and I suspect they were made to watch. Abandoned properties seem to be his locations of choice, leading me to think that this event occurred in such a place. The question is- what has triggered this unsub to start to killing?" Spencer quickly dialled a number and pressed a button to put the phone onto loudspeaker.
"Welcome to the oracle of all-knowing. Speak and be dazzled," came Penelope's cheery voice. Tara let out a small laugh and shook her head.
"Hey, Garcia. We've got a task for you," said Spencer, his top lip quirked into a small smile.
"Go, boy genius!"
"I'd like you to search for white males between the ages of thirty and forty who live within fifteen miles of the crime scenes. Narrow it down to ones who have lost families in a fire."
"Oh, Dr Reid! Are you flirting with me with such tasty parameters?" purred Penelope, "I'll hit you back when I have something." The line quickly went dead. Spencer slumped into a seat and let out a long, deflated sigh.
"Are you okay, Reid?" asked David, brow furrowed in concern.
"Yeah, I'm good." Spencer gave a small smile that he knew any seasoned profiler would see straight through. The silence was broken by the voices of Matt, Luke and JJ returning, apparently in the midst of a heated debate. Spencer could feel his stomach knotting once again.
"Excuse me," was all Spencer could press out as he darted to his feet and barged through plumes of police officers to the bathroom at a speed no one believed Spencer had in him. All faces of the team followed as Spencer's form disappeared into the crowd.
Spencer had a white knuckled grip on the cold ceramic of the wash basin. His stomach churned. He heaved, emptying the caffeinated contents of his stomach into the basin, splashing against his hands. Spencer panted, bile and saliva dripping from his chin. Sweat beaded his forehead and trickled over his cheeks. His hair hung limply around the sides of his face. Spencer twisted on the cold water faucet and washed away the bile in the basin. He cupped his hands underneath the crystalline stream and splashed it against his skin. He scrubbed hard at his face with the pads of his fingers. The sound of the bathroom door opening snapped Spencer out of his thoughts and he glanced up at the mirror, a bedraggled man staring back at him.
"You okay, Reid? You shot out of there like a rocket," came the voice of Luke. Spencer turned his head slightly to see the other man through his curls. Spencer sniffed and ran the back of a shaking against across his mouth.
"Yeah. This case is giving me a bad feeling. I don't know what it is."
"You should head to the hotel and get some sleep. You look like shit."
"Uh... Thanks?" answered Spencer, not entirely sure how to respond. Returning to his reflection, Spencer realised that Luke was right. The dark circles around his eyes were almost black and his skin was paler than usual.
Spencer was grateful that the hotel had enough rooms for the team to have a room each. It meant that he did not run the risk of anyone being awoken by one of his nightmares. He cast off his blazer and slung it over the back of the plush armchair and kicked off his converses. His entire body ached. Grasping his grey silk tie with both hands, Spencer tugged at the knot to loosen it and dragged it over his head, flipping up the collar of his darker grey button down shirt and ruffling his hair. Sluggishly, Spencer made his way into the bathroom and turned on the shower to allow the water to warm. The water crashed into the shower basin. He dipped his hand in and out of the stream to test the temperature. Once it was sufficiently warm, Spencer unbuttoned his shirt and shrugged it off and slid off his dress trousers. He pressed his palms against the cold white tiles on the wall as he allowed the water to beat against his head and back. Once he had sloughed off the day and exited the shower, Spencer pulled on a pair of sweatpants and a plain t-shirt and peeled back the comforter and plumped up the pillow. He could already feel the double bed calling out his name. As soon as his head hit the pillow, Spencer was asleep.
Spencer recoiled at the sight of the men gaining on him. He himself was a tall man, but these were much bigger. One of the men grinned wildly in front of Spencer whilst the other two were behind him.
"It's party time," said the man in front of Spencer. Spencer's arms were wrenched behind his back and tied tightly with a ripped up towel.
"Aah! Help! Help!" called out Spencer, his heart drumming a hole in his ribs. A roll of socks was stuffed into his open maw, stifling his cries. A handmade shiv was pressed into his cheekbone next to his wide, terrified eye.
"So you're too good to be with us? We offer you friendship and what do you do? Spit in our faces. Thinks he can survive in here without our help."
Spencer sat bolt upright in the bed with a yelp, his chest heaving for air. His hair clung to the sweat that ran down his face and the back of his neck. The comforter fell to his waist. Wild eyes glanced around the darkness of the room. His long term phobia of the dark had all but dissipated whilst in prison. Spencer panted and reached for his watch on the bedside table. He had only been asleep for two hours. He dropped heavily back into the pillow and stared up at the ceiling. He listened intently to the occupant of the room next door shifting in the bed by the sound of creaking springs. He waited, ensuring that no one approached his door in a blind hope that no one had heard him. When none came, Spencer let out a long sigh and closed his eyes. It was going to be a long night.