These Little Things || Spencer Reid

37

'The boy was the flash point,' She sighed; 'He was set on fire first, before Hannah, which would've been the result of the fire spreading due to the light fluid they were both covered in.'

'It also says that Hannah had burns that were a few days old,' Spencer added; 'But, there signs for sexual assault were inconclusive. Hannah also had a broken orbital bone around her right eye, suggesting she'd been punched.'

'Ok, so he kills the boy first and makes the girl watch. Why?' Luke asked. 

'If there surrogates, there could be a story behind it,' JJ offered; 'Something from the unsub's childhood.'

'Both the victims do look similar,' Laylah nodded; 'He's trying to perfect his fantasy.'

'But, why go dormant for so long?' 

'Maybe he knew the police would be looking for him,' Luke suggested. 

'But, he wouldn't have been able to control his urges for long. The police may not have connected it, but there may be small fires throughout the city since the first attack that have been lit by our unsub,' Spencer added. 

'And the C.O.D?'

'Based on the smoke inhalation, all the kids were burnt alive,' Laylah sighed.

###

Days passed, interviews never seemed to stop, questions from the press continued to roll in, and the team still had nothing. Everyone was tired, frustrated they didn't have more. Laylah's fingers tapped against the side of her coffee cup, her second in six hours. She was trying to find something, anything that connected the two victims. Something that could give them an idea about how the unsub was drawing these kids in. 

Bags sat heavy under her eyes from the second sleepless night, eyes bloodshot from the lack of blinking as her mind worked in over drive. She was slowly growing frustrated as the case began to cool off, the likelihood of their unsub going dormant again rising. She sighed, scratching the back of her head as her eyes continued to flick over the file for the millionth time as another cup of coffee was placed in front of her.

It broke her concentration enough for her to finally blink, looking up at the woman with a tight smile in thanks. She shifted her cold coffee aside, taking a sip of the warm brew as she looked over the pictures again. That was when the phone rang, JJ answering it quickly as they all shifted to listen it. 

'What have you got, Garcia?' Hotch asked. 

'Francesca Morales, sixteen years old was just reported missing in the local area,' Penelope spoke quickly; 'Apparently she was on her way to school when her parents last saw her, but she never arrived. So far, there's no witnesses.' 

'Thanks, Garcia. I want an Amber Alert set out for Francesa.'

'On it, sir.'

'We need to deliver the profile.'

'Do we have a profile?' JJ questioned. 

'We have enough to go off. I'll gather everyone.'

Laylah leant back in her seat, rubbing her eyes as she stifled a yawn. She stretched her arms over her head, Spencer taking her hands as he came up behind her; massaging them with his thumbs briefly. She sighed in relief, curling her fingers around his thumbs for a second before letting go. She stood, walking beside him as they left the conference room and headed out to the main part of the station. They all stood in a line, ready to present the case as officers gathered before them; ready to listen. 

'We believed our unsub is accelerating, getting confident and bold,' Hotch started. 

'And based on the victimology and the physical effort it would take to execute his M.O., we believe he is a white male between twenty five and thirty five,' Laylah added.