Philophobia

Thirty; Canyon Moon

August 13th, 2010
9:23 am
The Bullpen of Boise Police Station
Boise, Idaho

Eliza and Reid sat at the conference room table, the brunette drinking coffee, the genius reading. After the murder the night before, Hotch had dismissed the team under the reasoning that there was nothing more they could do that night. Still, in their hotel rooms, no one slept. Reid began murmuring to himself, causing Eliza to look up.

"What are you doing over there?" she asked. He didn't respond. "Spencer." Again he didn't respond. Eliza got up and walked over to him, putting a hand on his shoulder. He looked up at her, confused. "What are you doing?"

"I'm reading," he said like it was obvious.

"Yes, but what? You've been murmuring to yourself," she looked at him with a small smile, pushing hair out of his face.

"A research paper about facial symmetry, and asymmetry. I thought it might be helpful to the case, but none of this directly applies to what we're looking at," Reid sighed. He turned in his chair to face her, leaning back slightly, and grabbing Eliza's hand subtly.

"They identified the cable company the wire belonged to," Hotch said sticking his head into the conference room. Reid dropped Eliza's hand. "I need you two to go to Meridan Telecom. Now." He ducked out. Eliza got up, bringing her paper coffee cup with her. Reid followed, grabbing the car keys off of the table. Either he'd gotten significantly better at driving, or Eliza had gotten used to his subpar driving skills. Either way, he always drove when Hotch sent the two of them out. They went down the stairs to avoid waiting with the eight police officers for the elevator. In a few short minutes, they were on the road, the Top One-Hundred playing softly from the speakers. Eliza was looking out the window, but Reid was thinking.

"Do you think the people who watched that video last night will actually help to find the unsub?" he asked Eliza finally.

"Maybe. If they're willing to give up information to avoid more serious charges," said Eliza.

"Do you think they will?" Reid asked her.

"I think you're the profiler, not me." She chuckled slightly. Reid reached his right hand out, grabbing her thigh. "Why are you asking?"

"I don't want any more women to get hurt. It feels like it might be our fault because we can't catch him," he told her. And he truly meant it.

"That's ridiculous! At least we're looking, at least we've got some idea of how he's doing this. And I'd bet money that Penelope Garcia will track this guy before anyone else gets hurt," she smiled at him. Reid felt relieved, especially listening to Eliza's voice. He found it calming, her British inflections, the way her voice flowed like music. They pulled into the parking lot of Meridan Telecom, both getting out of the car into the heat. Upon entering the lobby, a woman walked up to greet them.

"Eileen Hightower, a pleasure to meet you," she greeted, extending her hand.

"I'm Agent Doyle, and this is Dr. Reid," Eliza responded shaking her hand. Luckily, Eileen didn't try to shake Reid's hand. "We're investigating a string of murders in the Boise area, and we found this cable at one of the victims' houses. Can you confirm that this is a cable from your company?" Elizas asked, handing the cable over.

"Yes, this is our cable," Eileen said rather surprised.

"Ms. Hightower, we went over your records, and it turns out that none of the four victims signed up with your service," Reid informed her.

"Four? God, those poor women."

"We think it's an employee using your cable as a ruse to get into the house," said Eliza. "Can you think of any-"