When The World Stops | Completed

Chapter 63: What Do I Do Now

"I'm so confused," I whispered against Spencer's chest. "None of it makes sense."

"We're figuring it out, it might be nothing." He reminded me.

I shook my head, "It doesn't feel like that."

"We've all been wrong," he said, "You can't be sure."

I couldn't respond.

"Sleep for now, nothing will happen before the morning."

I nodded and curled up, listening to Spencer's heartbeat, his soft humming lulling me to sleep.

Deanna's shaking voice, the image of her curled up terrified. Her parents' dead bodies, their eyes blank, faced contorted in terror. The way she collapsed into my arms. The request for dim lights, minimal noise, as if knowing we'd send the SWAT team out. Her small, shaking frame, walking out to us.

No footsteps, but so much blood.

I shot up in bed, "The shoes!"

"Hmm?" Spencer mumbled, sitting up, "What are you talking about?"

"All their shoes are by the door, except for one pair of shoes that was perfectly placed in the corner of the room where the parents were." I said in a rush. "They were clean, way too clean."

Spencer was already out of bed, "Let's go to the scene, I'll call Hotch and let him know what's going on."

We both rushed to pull on clothes, rushing out the door. Luckily, Spencer had the keys to one of the vans, and we fought early morning New York traffic to get to the apartment. Officers were guarding the scene, but I flashed my badge and ran inside. I hadn't had any coffee, and I was slightly delirious as I rushed through the rooms, muttering to myself as I tried to find the shoes.

"Hey, hey," Spencer caught my arm as I rushed through the small hallway, "Take a deep breath, tell me what you're looking for."

I closed my eyes, trying to think. "There was a clean pair of shoes in the room where the parents' bodies were."

"Okay, so why are you in Deanna's room?"

"The shoes aren't there anymore." I answered in a rush, "They're not anywhere."

"Okay, breathe, close your eyes and try to focus," Spencer held me close, "It's okay. Let's go through this logically."

I focused on my breathing, putting myself into the scene from yesterday. I'd walked into the room where Deanna's parents were, seen the bodies, blood pooling on the floor. I'd walked forward, hearing the blood squelch beneath my boots, and even though I knew they were gone, I checked for a pulse. I'd looked around the room, checking for any sign of the unsub, any mistake. The room was a mess, as if they'd struggled, but there were shoes in the corner. Black, plain, polished, too clean.

"The parents," I muttered, walking towards the room where we'd found their bodies, "This room looks like there was a struggle, right?"

Spencer nodded.

"But, remember the bodies? No sprawling, no chaos, they were laid out perfectly next to each other." I gestured towards the outlines on the floor, "It was too neat."

"Maybe the unsub arranged them after?" He asked.

"No, think about the other scenes attributed to this unsub, it's different. Those, he left them in chaos, why would this be different?"

"This family meant something," Spencer answered immediately, "Or it's a different unsub disguising their work as someone else's."

I nodded. "We need to find anyone with a grudge against this family, and fast. If it's a single unsub, he's going to kill afterwards too in order to conceal this family. And if it's not, our unsub is on the run."