"Hey, you okay?" Emily asks Spencer as he walks in.
"Yeah. Why?" He asks.
"You're never late." Derek says.
"Have we started the briefing yet?" Spencer asks, sitting down.
"Just about to." Penelope says.
"Then I'm not late." Spencer says.
"Oh. Yeah." Penelope mumbles. "Attention, intrepid BAU adventurers. The land of Bermuda shorts, white leisure suits, and sansabelt slacks requests your presence."
"Vegas?" Rossi asks.
"Arizona." Derek says.
"Palm Springs." Emily adds.
"Please." Hotch stops them.
"I was going to say Miami, but point well made about the dizzying number of locales with unfortunate fashion tendencies." Penelope says. "Here we go." She hits the button on the remote, pictures showing up on screen.
"Shells in the eyes and mouth. You don't see that every day." Emily says.
"Not even in Miami." Rossi says.
"3 victims, the last one found with a..." Penelope says.
"Decapitated cat?" Derek asks and Penelope nods.
"All were found within a mile of each other in a mostly Latino neighborhood in Miami called Allapattah." Hotch says.
"Eduardo Guzman, homeless. He was shot to death 7 days ago. Yanira Espinal, prostitute, bludgeoned to death 3 days ago. And then Victor Cabrera, he was an unemployed janitor. He was slashed with a machete yesterday, as was his cat." Penelope says.
"You know, considering the homeless man lived in that alley, all of the victims essentially were killed in their homes." Rossi says.
"This took some time." Derek says.
"In the open." Bedelia adds.
"You know, cowrie shells and ritual offerings are common to a number of Afro-Caribbean religions." Spencer says.
"But the upside down cross looks like Satanism." Emily says.
"The first two victims had fingers missing, but on this one, he took both hands." Derek says.
"All of this could have been religious?" Ashley asks.
"This could have specific religious meaning or it could just be part of the unsub's signature." Spencer says.
"Either way, his timetable's accelerating. We have a day, maybe 2, before the Miami P.D. has another body on its hands." Hotch states.
+++
They're on the jet and Ashley, Rossi, Derek, and Emily are sitting in the four chairs. Hotch is sitting on the table by the couch and Bedelia is sitting on the couch. Spencer is sitting on the other end of the couch and focused on whatever he's reading.
"The first victim was frail and an easy target, and yet the unsub shot him from behind and at a distance." Hotch says.
"By the second victim, the unsub chose not to use a gun anymore. He got up close and personal. 4 days is a rapid increase in confidence. By the third victim, he was comfortable enough to use a machete. But still from behind. So he's not invested in watching his victims suffer. Which fits what the M.E. said about the mutilations being postmortem. So we're back around a religious ritual."
"Reid?" Hotch calls.
"Hmm?" He looks up, squinting despite being in the unlit corner.
"Anything helpful?" Hotch asks.
"Yeah. Yeah." Spencer says. "Um..." He clears his throat as he gets up and sits by Bedelia. "The Afro-Caribbean syncretic religions began with slaves, who mixed their traditional religions with Catholicism in order to camouflage them. The elements in this altar... look to me like Santeria." He opens the file to some photos and puts them on the table.
"It's a Yoruban based religion developed in Cuba. Practitioners worship Orishas, deities that roughly correspond with Catholic saints." Spencer explains.
"And what about the shells?" Derek asks.
"Let's see." Spencer opens a book. "This is Ellegua, the deity of the crossroads, a trickster and the impartial enforcer of justice." He hands the book to Emily.
"So, is the unsub sacrificing the victims to him?" Ashley asks.
"None of these religions openly call for human sacrifice, only animals." Spencer says.
"We need to determine whether these killings are part of an existing ritual." Rossi says. Bedelia's eyes stay on Spencer as he gets up and goes to where they keep food and drinks. She gets up and follows him, walking to stand in front of him.
"Hey." She quietly says, frowning when she finds him rubbing his eyes. "Are you sure you're okay?"
"Yeah. Yeah, I'm fine." Spencer says. Bedelia gives him a look. "I'm fine."
"Come on, Spence." She mumbles. "You've passed on coming over for, like, two weeks. That's a little concerning."
"I just haven't been in the mood." Spencer shrugs.
"Spen--"
"I'm fine, Bedelia." Spencer harshly whispers.
"Fine." Bedelia mumbles.
"This the line?" They're interrupted by Ashley walking up.
"Hmm?" Spencer turns to her.
"Uh, for coffee. Sorry." Ashley says.
"I was just leaving." Bedelia says, forcing a small smile as she walks past the two.
+++
Bedelia, Spencer, and Derek are walking around the neighborhood.
"Hey. What's the matter with you?" Derek asks Spencer. "You're not gonna make a bunch of facts about the area and the demographics?"
"The Allapattah neighborhood is named after the Native American word for alligator." Spencer informs.
"There you go. There's the kid I know." Derek says. "All right, 5372 Seminole Street. This can't be it."
"Excuse me, sir." Spencer walks over to a guy that's chopping up meat. "Do you know where the community center is?"
"It's down there." He points. "This is Seminole Alley." He says something in Spanish.
Spencer roughly rubs his eye behind his sunglasses.
Bedelia notices, but refrains from asking, refusing to let him snap at her again when she just wants to help.
"You okay?" Derek asks the genius.
"Yeah. I'm fine." He says. "A lot better than that goat." He says, walking off.
Bedelia and Derek look at the table, the goat's head visible.
"Yeah, you got that right." Derek comments.
+++
"Victor was my best friend. We were like brothers." Mercado says.
"We're sorry for your loss, Mr. Mercado." Derek tells him.
"He was sick for a long time, but he was finally feeling better." Mercado says.
"He was sick?" Derek asks.
"His men's part, down there. The cancer." Mercado says.
"Where was he being treated?" Spencer asks.
"No, no, no. No doctors." Mercado shakes his head. "They don't do nothing but make you worse. Throw radiation on you, poison you. He did his cleaning every day. That's why he was feeling better."
"What do you mean by cleaning?" Spencer asks.
"He clean his head, his body. But he got one of the saints mad. Maybe he forgot to feed Ellegua." Mercado says.
"Terminaste?" A man with an apron and hairnet on walks up.
"Si." Mercado tells him and the man takes the tray. "Tuti." Mercado stands up, kissing his dog on the head. "I must go." He leaves.
Derek gets up and goes over to the counter. Bedelia looks at Spencer as he opens a book. He looks across the room at a woman who gets up and moves further down the room. Spencer harshly blinks.
+++
"Well, one thing's for sure is this community does not trust outsiders." Derek says.
"They barely trust insiders." Manny says.
"And none of the residents are gonna want to tell us what's ritual and what isn't." Hotch says.
"Garcia?" Derek calls, not seeing her in the screen. "Hey, Garcia. Where you at?"
"I'm... I'm here. I'm right-- I'm right-- I'm right here." Penelope sits down. "I'm always right here."
"All right, listen, we need you to find us an expert on Afro-Caribbean religions, someone outside of the community who might be willing to talk." Derek says.
"If he or she exists, yours truly will find him or her." Penelope promises.
"Thanks, Garcia." Hotch says.
"Yeah." She says.
"So not only do all the victims know the unsub, but they participate with him in a consensual ritual before he kills them." Hotch says.
"He poses the bodies after death. He wants them to be found." Emily says.
"The question is, who is he trying to communicate with?" Spencer asks.
"And what's he trying to say?" Rossi adds.
+++
"The professor has a morning class, but he'll be with you shortly."
"Thank you." Derek tells him as the three walk into the office. The guy nods and leaves.
"I've never seen a first edition "Tractatus" before." Spencer says, looking at the bookshelf.
Derek's phone starts ringing and he takes it out of his pocket.
"Yeah, Hotch." He answers. "Well, that didn't take long." He says. "Jimmy Mercado? Wait a minute. Guys, isn't Jimmy Mercado the shaved ice man?"
"Yeah." Spencer answers as Bedelia nods.
"Hotch, we just interviewed this guy yesterday." Derek says. He hangs up after a moment.
"Mercado was killed?" Spencer asks.
"Psychopathic hubris." Derek says. "This unsub's success is making him feel invincible."
"Hi." The professor walks in. "Sorry I'm late." He shuts the door. "The lady that called said you're investigating these murders we've been seeing on TV. Awful. Just awful. So, how can I be of assistance?" He asks as he stands behind his desk.
"We were hoping you could help us analyze these." Derek says, opening a file that has crime scene photos. Spencer sits down. The professor looks at the photo, looking away.
"They're difficult to look at even when you're used to them." Spencer says.
The professor starts to go through the photos.
"Well... you have several different religions manifesting here." He says. "Most of the elementals are from Santeria healing rituals, but the upside down crucifix and the chalk drawings -- they're from a much darker religion. Unbaptized Palo Mayombe."
Derek gives his tablet to the professor.
"Is that a dog?" He asks.
"He had a chihuahua." Spencer says.
"Does that mean anything to you, professor?" Derek asks.
"Santeros don't sacrifice house pets, but there are Palo Mayombe rituals that use dogs." He says. "Palo is a secretive religion. Very hard to research. Mine will be the first academic work on the subject."
"Earlier you called it dark, but aren't all the African based Syncretic religions amoral? I mean, it can be used for good or evil. Depending on the practitioner, right?" Spencer asks.
"They're nature religions. Nature knows no right or wrong, only balance or imbalance." The professor says.
"So what makes Palo darker than other religions?" Derek asks.
"All the others achieve their goals by pleasing the Orishas. Palo is the only one that harnesses the spirits of the dead to accomplish its ends." The professor says. "This is an Nganga." He shows them a photo. "The primary tool of a Palero, a Palo priest. Now, at its core is the Nkisi, the spirit of the deceased who inhabits it. Many Paleros believe that the fresher the brain in the skull, the more powerful the Nganga is."
"So what are you saying, this actually calls for a human sacrifice?" Derek asks.
"No, no, no, not at all. Usually a fresh brain means digging up a recent grave or getting one through donation." The professor says. "I've never heard of a Palero killing to obtain one."
"Well, this may be a first." Derek says. He slides to the crime scene photo he needs. "Does anything look out of place to you?" He shows the professor the photo.
"Outside of the human head, it all seems fairly traditional." The professor says. Derek takes the tablet back, scrolling through the photos.
"Well, he cut off the victim's tongue and put it in a dish." Derek says, showing him the photo. "Does that have some kind of ritual meaning?"
"It may be a sacrifice to Ellegua to silence informants, people who talk to outsiders, but usually you use a cow tongue." He says.
"Let me ask you this. all of the victims either had hands or fingers removed." Spencer says.
"That's not good." The professor says. "He may be building an Nganga to Kadiebempe, the deity that some call The Devil. It requires finger bones from 7 different corpses."
"So far, he only has 4." Spencer says.
+++
Derek, Bedelia, and Spencer walk up to the building. The door opens and a woman holding a small baby walks out. She passes them, leaving, and the three go inside.
They walk into the room where a bunch of people are chanting stuff in a different language. One of the men blows smoke into a woman's face. They have a chicken and the same guy lightly rubs it across another woman who is on her knees. They continue to chant and a woman screams as the guy cuts the chicken, killing it. The guy drips the blood on the woman on her knees.
They all turn to the three of them.
"We're with the FBI. We're not here to cause any trouble." Derek tells them. "But, sir, please put that knife down." The man drops the knife and gives another guy the chicken before walking up to Derek.
"This is a house of God. You have no right to be here." The guy says.
"We just would like to ask you some questions." Derek says as the guy stares at Spencer. "We'd appreciate it if you came with us voluntarily. We're not here to create a spectacle." Bedelia glances between the guy and Spencer as they stare at each other.
"I will go with you." The guy says, still staring at Spencer. He nods back to one of the men who nods back. They leave as the others resume.
+++
"Okay, your bad boy grew up in foster care. He did 15 years in Apalachee Correctional for attempting to murder a police officer." Penelope says.
Bedelia looks at Spencer, watching him rub at his eyes again.
"He was also a member of a violent street gang known as Los Machetes." Penelope says.
"Subtle." Hotch comments.
"Damn." Manny whispers. They turn to him. "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 asks.
"I'll get someone on it." Manny walks off.
"Anything else, Garcia?" Hotch asks.
"I can tell you that Julio did his time without incident. He was released in 2003. He regularly visited his parole officer. There are no waves in these crime waters since he got out." Penelope says.
"All right, thanks, baby girl." Derek says.
"I shall await further instruction." She says before he hangs up.
"This guy's been eyeballing the mirror since he got here." Derek says. "Let's see what he has to say."
"Wait, Morgan. I think I should go in first." Spencer says.
"What?" Derek asks.
"Do you remember at the community center, he said he would come with me?" Spencer asks.
"If they already have a rapport..." Rossi says.
"You want Morgan to come with you?" Hotch asks.
"No, I'm all right. Thanks." Spencer says, taking the file from Derek.
"Dave, you want to go to the soup kitchen and check out his living space, take Prentiss and Seaver with you?" Hotch asks. Rossi nods.
"There was a teenager. Looked like his assistant." Derek says. "He took over when we left." Rossi leaves.
Spencer goes into the interrogation room.
"My name is Dr. Spencer Reid." He tells Julio. He lays out a few of the crime scene photos the victims with the shells on their eyes and mouth. Spencer sits across from him. "Did you know these people?"
"They are my Godchildren. They all came to me to be healed." Julio says.
"And you healed them." Spencer says.
"You think I killed them." Julio says. "The Saints don't need a human sacrifice. That is a man's sickness."
"Maybe it's not about sacrifice. Maybe someone needs body parts to build a Nganga."
"What do you know about Palo?" Julio sits up, leaning closer to Spencer. "The light... is no good. It gives you a headache.
"You wanted to see some of what Los Machetes does?" Manny walks in with a file, giving it to them and they look at the photos.
Derek goes into the interrogation room. He stands at the end of the table and holds up a photo.
"That remind you of your youth?" He asks Julio. The man simply stares at Spencer. "It's some pretty ugly things to be involved in. Did you help, or did you just watch?" Julio starts to tap his fingers on the table. "Is that what you call religion? What kind of man does that to another man? Not a man of faith."
Julio only continues to tap his fingers on the table and stare at Spencer while Derek talks to him. Julio starts to chant something in a different language, still tapping and staring at Spencer.
"Wh-- what's happening?" Bedelia asks.
"I don't know." Hotch mutters. Julio gets faster and louder, still staring at Spencer while Derek glances back in their direction every few moments.
Derek and Spencer leave the interrogation room.
"What the hell was that?" Manny asks.
"I think I just witnessed a classic case of transpossession." Spencer says. "It's a form of religious hysteria. He wholeheartedly believes he was being occupied by some form of deity."
"He wasn't faking it?" Manny asks.
"Up close you can see physiological signs. His body actually changed in response to the belief." Derek says.
"There have been a lot of studies of this phenomenon. There was one case where an 80 year old woman was able to lift a grown man above her head when she believed she was occupied by her saint."
"Detective, did you understand what he was saying at the end?" Hotch asks.
"Brother, look, I'm a Puerto Rican Catholic that grew up in Orlando. That wasn't any language I ever heard." Manny says.
"I remember the words. I'm sure he'll be able to translate them." Spencer says, heading for the door.
"You sure?" Hotch asks.
"That I remember them?" Spencer asks.
"That you want to go back in." Hotch says.
"Yeah." Spencer says, going back into the room.
"Is he all right?" Hotch asks.
"Yeah, I think so." Derek says.
"No." Bedelia answers at the same time.
"What's wrong with him?" Hotch asks.
"I don't know." Bedelia shrugs. "Dude doesn't talk."
"Something weird was definitely going on in there." Derek says.
"What happened?" Julio asks when Spencer enters.
"You have no recollection?" Spencer asks, sitting down.
"I remember talking about the lights." Julio says.
"You were talking about the lights, and then you were talking about headaches." Spencer says.
"That was my Saint. You're lucky Ellegua spoke to you. What did he say?"
"Eggun buruku ni ki ori baje ni." Spencer recalls.
"You have a bad eggun on top of you that's spoiling your head." Julio says, leaning towards Spencer.
"Iche peraldo tete tete." Spencer says.
"Do a cleansing quickly." Julio translates.
"What are eggun?" Spencer asks.
"Spirits of the dead."
"Why would you say that I--"
"I didn't."
"Well, why would your saint say that they're spoiling my head?"
"Now, that's a question only you can answer. Something's wrong. Can you feel it?"
"Yeah. 4 people are dead. I think maybe the fifth one is safe with you in here."
"No, he's not. Someone's about to get hurt. Listen with your heart, not your head."
Derek walks in.
"Your helper, the kid that took over your ritual when we brought you in here?" Derek asks.
"Elian." Julio says.
"My associates just found sale-weight heroin in his room. And an Nganga." Derek says.
"Where is he?" Julio asks.
"He's running." Derek says.
Julio slams his hands on the table and stands up.
"Hey. Calm down." Derek tells him.
"That was genuine." Rossi comments.
"You seem surprised." Hotch says.
"And he cares about the kid." Ashley adds.
"Well, he's no psychopath." Emily says.
"No, but maybe the boy is." Hotch says. "Do we have a last name for Elian?"
"Morales." Rossi answers.
"Prentiss, have Garcia find out what she can." Hotch says and Emily nods.
"Please, I gotta find him." Julio says. "He's got nobody but me."
"Do you think it's possible that Elian is our Palero?" Spencer asks.
"No. No, he's a good kid." Julio says.
"Then why did he run?" Derek asks.
"He must be using again." Julio says. "His mama and papa were junkies. I took him in, got him clean, taught him right from wrong. Please. I gotta find him before he gets hurt."
"The entire police force is out looking for him." Derek says.
"He's on the streets." Julio says. "He's gonna go so far under, he'll be gone for good. I'm your best chance to find him."
"Just small stuff -- shoplifting, loitering-- wait. Uh, he was thrown in juvie hall for assault last month." Penelope says. "Complainant was Julio Ruiz."
"Tough love?" Emily asks.
"Charges were dropped. Elian got out last week." Penelope says.
"Which is when the murders started." Bedelia says.
"Thanks, Garcia." Emily tells her.
"Yeah." Penelope says, the two hanging up.
"Elian's dependent on him, so he can't get revenge directly." Hotch says.
"His rage against Julio and his junkie parents could be taken out on the victims." Rossi says.
"So, uh, the blood on the head thing is goat. But the pot that the kid had has 4 human fingers and parts of a human brain in it." Manny says. "And it's human blood on the sneaker. And one more thing -- the tongue and the hands were cut off antemortem. The guy's torturing them now."
"You know, you can't protect him if he did this." Derek tells Julio.
"I'm not protecting him." Julio says.
"Then what are you not telling us?" Spencer asks.
"If you want to help Elian, you're gonna have to give us something that we don't know." Derek says.
"I'll ask the Orishas to help find this killer." Julio says. He grabs the water bottle that Spencer brought in earlier and opens it. He pours some water in his hand and starts to chant as he sprinkles it over his head.
"We don't have time for this, do we?" Manny asks as Julio performs the ritual.
"If it ends with him helping us, yes, we do." Hotch says.
Julio finishes the ritual after a few moments.
"The Orishas are with us now." Julio says.
"Okay, we have four victims, all with cowrie shells in their mouths and eyes." Spencer says.
"Ellegua is called to find justice." Julio says.
"Two of the victims had fingers cut off." Derek says. "One had both hands removed. And one had its head left on the scene, but the brain was missing."
"They took the brain and left the head?" Julio asks.
"The head was left at the crime scene." Derek says.
"No, that is not Palo. A Palero would not leave the head." Julio says.
"He also left the tongue." Spencer says, finding the picture of the tongue and showing Julio.
"There is no use in the religion for a tongue that is not pierced with needles." Julio says. "It means nothing just to put a tongue in a dish."
"If it's not part of the ritual, then it's the unsub's signature." Hotch says.
"His psychopathy is showing." Emily says.
"Or he's silencing someone through his victims." Ashley says.
"And he enjoys it. He just didn't know it at first." Rossi says.
"Elian is an angry child, but he would not do this." Julio says. "Please, let me find him before it gets worse."
"Thank you for your help." Spencer tells him. Derek opens the door. Spencer starts grabbing everything and Julio walks over to him.
"Your head is spinning because it's full of ghosts. You think you can do this work day in, day out and you can't carry it with you? It's eating your soul." Julio tells him before walking out.
"Ghosts?" Derek asks. Spencer just walks out.
~ ~ ~
"All right, so what have we got?" Hotch asks.
"A lot of evidence pointing to Elian Morales." Emily says.
"Too much." Derek says.
"He fits the profile perfectly." Ashley says.
"Too perfectly. Like every step was planned." Rossi says.
"There are no fingerprints, but a single sneaker print." Emily says.
"And that sneaker turns up in the kid's room." Rossi says.
"Maybe somebody's framing Elian, but who?" Hotch asks.
"Someone with enough intelligence and control to set up a very convincing trail." Derek says.
"Somebody we've met." Hotch says. "He's probably been watching us all along."
"He began his killing for gain of some sort. But his enjoyment of killing is beginning to disrupt his organization." Rossi says. "He's demanding attention. Maybe that's his game."
"Well, he got it. From the media, from the public, us." Emily says.
"That's it -- media attention." Spencer says. "But not for the killings, for the religion. Morgan, Bedelia, Professor Walker is about to publish a book on Palo Mayombe. We showed him the photo of the fourth victim's tongue in a dish and he didn't say it wasn't right. I mean, he of all people should have known it didn't fit any ritual."
"And that a Palero would've taken the head." Derek adds.
"But he wants us to believe that Elian's a Palero and that these are religious killings." Spencer says.
"And he did his research in the community. He'd be known and accepted." Hotch says.
"He knows the rituals inside out." Bedelia says.
"Maybe he gave the idol to the kid, pretending to train him as a witch doctor." Rossi says.
"If Elian was angry with Julio, he may have been looking for another father figure." Emily says.
"Elian was easy prey." Ashley says.
"What better way to get publicity than a series of murders?" Emily asks.
"Yeah, Garcia, get us everything you can on Professor Walker's background." Derek tells her.
"And his address." Hotch adds.
"Got that?" Derek asks Penelope.
"Let's go. We'll take the house, Morgan, Davis, and Reid, take the office."
+++
"Walker's prep school did a psych eval when he was 12." Penelope says, the team on a three way call as they drive to the house and office. "He did not exactly fit in."
"No surprise there." Rossi says.
"And his mother committed suicide when he went away to boarding school, and to make things stranger and sadder, after she died, he spent all of his vacations at school." Penelope says.
"What kind of father doesn't bring his motherless kid home for the holidays?" Emily asks.
"A crappy one." Ashley says.
"His medical records list a bunch of childhood injuries, including two spiral fractures of the forearm and one broken collarbone." Penelope says.
"Well, two spiral fractures are unlikely to be accidents." Bedelia says.
"Put that together with the mother's suicide, I think we're looking at an abusive father." Spencer says.
"Garcia, what can you find out about the father?" Hotch asks.
"A lot." She says.
"Like what?" Hotch asks.
"He wrote 10 books, all on African religions." Penelope says.
"The professor's in competition with the father." Hotch says.
"Yeah, and here's the kicker. His son is mentioned in this article and that he's up for tenure in the same field." Penelope says.
+++
They get to the office and go in, but don't find Walker. Derek's phone rings and he answers it.
"Hotch." He answers. "No, there's no one here either. We're gonna look around." He tells him.
"Guys, neighbors reported a disturbance at the soup kitchen." Manny says.
"Let's go, Reid." Derek says.
+++
"There's nothing unusual upstairs." Derek says. "Reid's going through Julio's room to see if we missed anything."
"They found these in the refrigerator." Manny walks over, holding two bags.
"Looks like he dug those up." Ashley says.
"Those weren't there when we were here earlier." Rossi says.
"They were planted to make it look like Elian completed the ritual." Hotch says.
"Which means the professor's ready to wrap this up." Derek says.
Bedelia heads for the stairs.
"Where are you going?" Hotch asks.
"Checking on Reid." Bedelia says, going upstairs. She walks down the hall until she finds Julio's room. The lights are off, the light from the living room being the only thing to let her see. However, she finds the room empty.
"Spence?" She calls. She turns the light on. "Spencer." She walks in and looks around. She goes over to the window and sees him walking up to the house across the street. Rushing out of the room, she quickly follows him.
"Spencer." She hisses, getting him to turn back.
"What are you doing here?" He asks.
"What am I doing here? What are you doing? You-- you don't even have your vest on." She says.
"Look, just-- just go back." Spencer says.
"No. No, I'm not letting you go somewhere alone. You figured something out." Bedelia says.
"We don't have time for this." Spencer says, grabbing her wrist and dragging her towards the house. He opens the front door and slowly walks in, letting go of Bedelia's wrist as she follows him.
They walk through the house and stop at a wall made out of boards of wood and has cracks in it. Spencer looks through one of the cracks.
"Go back." Spencer whispers. Bedelia turns, jumping back when she's greeted with a gun in her face. She bumps into Spencer who grabs onto her arm.
"You two really shouldn't be here." Walker harshly whispers. He tightly grabs Bedelia by her shoulder, keeping the gun pointed her head. "Get inside." He orders.
Spencer keeps his hands up as he glances at the gun pointed to the brunette's head. He walks into the other room where Julio is on the floor and Elian is tied up on a chair and unconscious.
"You're a professor and you're very smart." Spencer says as Walker drags Bedelia into the room. "You're a lot smarter than this." Walker shuts the door.
"Smarter? Your guns, please. Toss them over there." Walker orders. Spencer and Bedelia both get their guns and toss them. "Take the vest off."
"What?" Bedelia asks.
"Take the vest off." Walker orders, pressing the gun into the back of her head.
"Okay. Okay." She says. She takes her vest off, letting it drop to the floor.
"People like you and I don't need guns." Spencer says.
"Like you and I." Walker repeats.
"Yeah, men of intelligence." Spencer says.
"Oh, we're the same?" Walker questions. Julio lets out muffled noises. "Shut up."
"I think that there are some similarities. I mean, uh, we both love books." Spencer says.
"Books?" Walker asks.
Spencer's phone rings.
"Ah." Walker warns. He grabs Spencer's phone and throws it across the room. "Where's yours?"
"Back right pocket." Bedelia says. Walker goes into her pocket and pulls her phone out, tossing it near Spencer's. Julio tries to talk.
"You shut up. Shut up." Walker orders.
"You know what? I don't-- I don't believe that you killed all these people just to sell a book." Spencer says.
"Oh, really?" Walker asks. "Elian will die of an overdose after killing his Santero for his fingers. It will all make sense to the police."
"How are you going to explain the two of us?" Spencer asks, nodding his head in Bedelia's direction.
"Elian will have killed both of you, too." Walker says. "Have we not established how ill he is? He's been on a Palo rampage. Everyone will want to learn about the religion that drove the boy crazy. Will you shut up!" He snaps at Julio.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, but I don't believe that this is about a book. And I don't think that you do, either." Spencer says.
"Excuse me?" Walker asks.
"I-- I think it's more about the abuse, the abandonment, and the lack of attention from your father." Spencer says.
"That's enough."
"You know what the ridiculous thing is, is that you--" Spencer laughs, pressing his fingers into his eyes.
"Reid?" Bedelia calls.
"You set up a paradigm where you actually have to get caught." Spencer says. "Think about it. If you get away with this, your father will never know that you did any of it."
"What is wrong with you?" Walker asks as Spencer presses his hands into his eyes.
"Reid." Bedelia calls.
"I'm sorry, it's just very bright in here for me." Spencer says. Bedelia looks around the dark room.
"Bright?" Walker asks.
"Please turn the lights off." Spencer says.
"The light-- what are you-- just shut up!" Walker yells at Julio. "Just shut--" He's cut off as Spencer hits him in the head with a pipe, sending him to the ground.
"You okay?" Spencer asks Bedelia.
"Yeah. Yeah, I'm fine." She says. Before she can say anything else, Spencer goes to Julio and the door swings open.
"FBI!" Derek shouts.
Bedelia goes over to Elian and checks his pulse.
"Morgan, we need an ambulance." Spencer says.
"Get an ambulance." Hotch orders.
"Elain's overdosed with heroin." Bedelia states.
"Don't hurt me." Walker says as Derek arrests him.
"You have the right to remain silent. Use it." Derek tells him as he hauls him to his feet.
"He has a pulse. It's weak, though." Bedelia tells Hotch as he walks over.
"Are you okay?" Hotch asks.
"Yeah. Yeah, I'm fine." She nods.
"Do you think he'll come to see me in jail? Do you think he'll visit?" Walker asks.
"Who?" Manny asks.
"My father." Walker says. "He'll hear about this, right? I'll be pretty famous."
"Oh, he's gonna hear about it, all right." Derek drags him out.
"You heard me calling." Julio says as Spencer helps him up.
"What?" Spencer asks.
"You heard me calling. That's why you came." Julio says.
"Julio, I found a photograph of you in front of this building. That's how I found you." Spencer says.
"You don't really believe that, do you?" Julio asks. "That you just happened to see a photograph?" He takes a bracelet off and holds it out to Spencer. "This is Orula's Ide. It will protect you. I don't need it anymore, but... you do." He gives it to Spencer before walking out.
"What do you need protecting from?" Hotch asks.
"I have no idea." Spencer says.
"Are you all right?" Hotch asks.
"I pretended to heave a headache in order to distract him." Spencer says.
"Pretended?" Hotch asks.
"Yeah, pretended." Spencer dismisses, walking out. Hotch looks at Bedelia, catching her rolling her eyes.
+++
Bedelia walks over to her door after she hears the knock. She looks through the peephole, sighing. She unlocks and opens the door.
"Hi." Spencer nervously greets.
"Hi." She replies.
"I, uh... I just wanted to, um... apologize for-- for snapping at you the other day. You didn't deserve that. I'm sorry." Spencer says.
"So can you tell me what's going on, then?" Bedelia asks.
"I, uh... I've just been having these really bad headaches. They're kinda... kinda freaking me out a bit." Spencer says.
Bedelia quietly sighs, her heart clenching at the worried look in his eyes. She steps aside, letting Spencer walk in.