Psychopathy

Chapter 51- The Old Garda

Which meant that the small child in the picture was Ciara. Except she wasn't Ciara Byrne when that photo was taken. She was still Isabel Ashe.

"I present to you, Alexandria, Blake, and Isabel Ashe," Garcia said, and everyone stared at the picture. They'd never seen a picture of Ciara as a child. But the little girl in the picture was certainly her. Her chestnut-colored hair was already down to her waist, and her amber eyes shone brightly in the picture. The only thing that seemed to be purely Isabel was the bright, toothy grin on her face. It almost looked as if the picture was snapped mid-laugh.

"Oh, my God, look at little Ciara!" Teresa cooed, a smile on her face. "Aw, what a little cutie. I've never seen a picture of her so young, oh my goodness. And that smile! That looks like the perfect family right there." Teresa had a point. Alexandria and Blake were sitting on a bench, Ciara in their laps. Both adults had one arm around each other, their other arm holding Ciara close. Ciara was gripping their hands, looking as safe and happy as a small child should. It looked like the Ashes were the exact opposite of the Byrnes. The Ashes were a family filled with love.

"Yeah. That picture was taken on Ciara's fourth birthday, and unfortunately, that's as good as it got for them. It was about three months later, on September 16th, 1989, that... everything happened," Garcia said. "This is such a good picture, I don't want to ruin it with all the icky Prentiss just sent me, so we're going to put the PG-rated pictures up there." The picture of the Ashes was replaced with a broken window, two bloody cleavers, blood-soaked walls, and a bathtub filled with blood.

A bathtub filled with blood. Was that...? During the case in Bloomington, Ciara's flashback had been triggered when Reid asked her if she needed a bath. And when Lucas McCoy had them, he had thrown her into a pool of red water because he knew she hated red liquids. This was why. This picture was the answer to that. But yet, something was itching at the back of his mind. How did Ciara know about that? There was no way she would have known the details of her parents' murder... unless...

No. Please, God, no.

"Alexandria and Blake Ashe weren't just murdered. They... they were..." Garcia drifted off, unable to finish.

"On the night of September 16th, 1989, two assailants broke into the Ashe home via the living room window. They managed to blitz-attack both Alexandria and Blake and brought them to the bathroom, where they were... Oh, God, they were dismembered," Prentiss finished for her.

"How did they conclude that there were two assailants?" JJ asked. "Looking over the files, it says that there were no fingerprints or DNA to prove that."

"It's because there was a witness," Prentiss sighed, and Teresa gasped.

"Oh, please tell me that Ciara didn't see all of that. Please tell me she was asleep or that one of the murderers took her outside," Teresa said.

"I wish I could tell you that, Teresa, but..." Garcia started.

"Ciara saw the whole thing. They woke her up and dragged her out of her bed, took her into the bathroom, and made her watch as her parents were murdered," Prentiss finished. Everyone sighed sadly. No four-year-old should have to watch their parents being murdered. Especially not one as messy and sadistic as dismemberment.

"Oh my God, no!" Garcia screamed, pushing her laptop away from her.

"I see you got to that part," Prentiss replied.

"What part?" Reid asked, and Prentiss sighed.

"You have to show them."

"No, no, I do not want that icky picture up on that screen. No, I draw the line right there!" Garcia exclaimed, and JJ put a hand on her shoulder.