SPENCER - spencer reid

S E V E N T E E N

CHAPTER 17: THE LEAD

[January 29th, 2010]

Rosemary paces nervously among the aisles of bookshelves, not able to focus properly on her job as she wears herself down with worry for Spencer.

It had only been 3 days since he had disappeared, but during those 3 days, Rosemary had not gotten a wink of sleep and had barely eaten. Her sleepless nights had driven her nearly mad, the inability of getting rest making her more paranoid and concerned than ever. She can hardly stand to be at work, but Agents Hotchner and Rossi had told her to continue with life as normal and that her presence unnecessary at the B.A.U. Headquarters with them.

With a sigh, she plops back down behind the cash register, absentmindedly ringing up a stack of books for a young college student. Rosemary watches as the girl exits, yearning for Spencer Reid to walk back through the swinging door.

꧁꧁꧂꧂

Aaron Hotchner stands in the conference room before his distracted team, his dark eyes lingering on the empty chair that should be occupied by Dr. Spencer Reid. He briefly lowers his gaze to the floor before lifting his head and speaking with authority despite his concern for the young agent.

"I know that you're all worried about Reid..." He starts to say as looks around at the agents, but his stare falls yet again on the empty chair. "And to be transparent: I am, too," he clears his throat. "But we have to keep the Transient Killer case at the forefront of our minds. We cannot make Reid's case a priority over that one no matter how much we'd like to. Do you understand?"

The younger agents nod, but David Rossi stands up from his chair.

"Aaron." He addresses Agent Hotchner, who turns to him.

"What is it, Dave?" Hotchner inquires when he notices the thoughtful expression on his friend's face.

"This may be a long-shot, but what if it's the same UNSUB?" Rossi offers. "Starting on the night Reid was taken, the UNSUB had a cooling off period of about two days before the next transient was reported missing..."

"Even if that were so, it would be a huge change in M.O. to go from homeless people to a young F.B.I. agent who has multiple people in his life to notice if he dropped of the grid." Derek Morgan points out with an expressionless face, but his eyes betray him by revealing his fear and concern.

"But - if Rossi's theory is correct - the UNSUB most likely spent every bit of those two days with Reid," Prentiss shivers, cringing at the thought of her friend being hurt or worse. "And that means that he would have not reported to work the past few days."

"So, what? Do we have Garcia call every office building in the area to see what man has missed work? That won't narrow it down hardly at all." Jennifer frowns as she rubs her forehead.

"It could... Get Garcia in here." Hotchner says, and Emily immediately grabs her cellphone, speed-dialing Penelope's number.

Less than two minutes later, the sound of Penelope's high-heeled shoes can be heard clicking down the hallway as she makes her way towards the open door. She scampers inside, her fluffy hairpin shedding a wispy green strand into the air as she does so. She plops down into a chair, placing her laptop on the conference table before turning to the team.

"I was told that my scary-smart tech abilities were needed?" She asks rhetorically, glancing around.

"This UNSUB is one who feels unseen at work or at home," Aaron folds his arms over his torso as he briefly leans back onto the heels of his feet. "He most likely works in a large office building with many employees that do the exact same job as he does, making it nearly impossible for him to stand out or be recognized for his good work."

"He has fallen into such monotony that he feels like a machine just going through the motions day in and day out." Derek adds, picturing a well-dressed, middle-aged man sitting in a cramped cubicle for 8 hours a day.

"Garcia, want you to find every office building with over 500 employees in the perimeter that we have canvassed out on the map based on the homeless abductions." Aaron gestures to the chart tacked to the board behind him, the hastily-drawn lines from Reid's marker decorating the majority of its surface.

"Piece of cake," Penelope says colloquially as she types rapidly, feigning a cheerful façade in an attempt to ease the tension in her team. "But what do you want after I get that narrowed down?"

"Then look into the attendance files of all of the single male workers," Rossi instructs, Aaron nodding in agreement. "Focus on the men who have had near-perfect records up until the time of the first murder."

"Specifically men who have missed the last two days without a solid alibi," Jennifer adds, her eyes glued to her hands, which rest comfortably on her lap. "The UNSUB would have definitely spent these past few days with Reid."

"If we find this UNSUB," Hotchner stars grimly. "We'll find Reid."