Philophobia

Forty-Two; Strange

November 25th, 2010
9:41 am
The Murder Site of Jimmy Mercado
Miami, Florida

Eliza tapped her foot slightly as she waited for Hotch to get off the phone. She was confused as to why he was bringing her to so many crime scenes but didn't think it was appropriate to ask. Rossi was shuffling around the room, looking at different things while analyzing them.

"Well, this is a significant change in the unsub's MO," Hotch began.

"He subdued the victim in the hallway prior to dragging him in here," Rossi stated.

"Doesn't suggest a consensual ritual," Hotch sighed. "He wanted the victim to know exactly what was coming."

"And he took the head as well as the hands." Rossi looked around. Eliza carefully opened a cabinet on the wall, hoping she could say something helpful. She took a step back upon seeing what was hidden inside.

"He took the brain," she said, turning to face her bosses. Rossi moved closer, peering into the closet.

"And what is that?" asked Rossi, looking in the cabinet. A bowl with blood had caught his eyes, more because he couldn't tell what was inside.

"A tongue," Eliza muttered. "Just when you think it can't get any worse." She took another step back, then noticed something else across the room. "Rossi-"

"Is that a dog?"

November 25th, 2010
11:20 am
The Bullpen of the Miami Police Department
Miami, Florida

Eliza sat on a desk watching the team deliver the profile, more specifically Spencer Reid. He'd been weird lately, more weird than usual. He was more closed off, angrier. When they were finished, Morgan began talking to Garcia on the phone while Hotch and Rossi were talking to one another. Reid, on the other hand, began rubbing his eyes with the bottom of his hands. Eliza looked around, then walked over to him.

"You alright?" she asked gently, grabbing one of his hands.

"Fine. I'm fine."

"Spence, you're lying," she said quietly.

"Can we talk about this later?" he asked her rather desperately. Eliza's eyebrows furrowed together in worry, but she didn't have a chance to say anything.

"Reid, I'm going to follow up on a lead from Garcia," Morgan interrupted.

"I'll come with you," Reid said. He moved away from Eliza, following Morgan to the front door. They were gone for about an hour, then came back with a suspect in tow. Morgan put the unsub into the interrogation room, then went back into the observation room where the rest of the team and Detective Perez. As he did, Eliza dialed Garcia's number on the landline in the room.

"This is Julio Ruiz," Morgan informed the crowd. "Has Garcia got anything?"

"Okay, your bad boy grew up in foster care. He did 15 years in Apalachee Correctional for attempting to murder a police officer. He was also a member of a violent street gang known as Los Machetes," Garcia said through the phone.

"Subtle," Eliza said snarkily.

"Damn," Perez muttered. "They like to cut off the hands, and sometimes the heads, of their victims."

"Can you get us some crime scene photos to look at?" Hotch asked.

"I'll get someone on it." Perez moved out of the room, phone in hand.

"Thanks. Anything else, Garcia?" Hotch asked after Perez had left.

"I can tell you that Julio did his time without incident, and he was released in 2003," Garcia said slyly. "He regularly visited his parole officer. There are no waves in these crime waters since he got out."