"I'm that voice you're hearing in the hall"
Episode: Omnivore (Season 4, Episode 18)
* * *
The Boston Reaper.
That name had been haunting Bella for the past 14 years. Growing up she read about some of the most notorious serial killers, studying their signatures and their M.O. She would watch documentaries about Ted Bundy and how he used to lure trusting women into his car. She read articles about John Wayne Gacy and how he buried 26 bodies in his crawl space. At the age of 12, she was staying up until 4 in the morning reading true crime books about The Zodiac Killer. None of it bothered her, none of it kept her up at night. She grew desensitized to it.
But The Boston Reaper kept Bella up at night. She first learned about him when she was only 9 years old, hearing about him on the news while she ate pancakes at the breakfast table. Her mother hurried to turn the channel to something child friendly, but Bella had already heard enough. She knew that this man was dangerous and he was only 6 hours away. Reading about serial killers in the 70s and 80s didn't scare her, because she knew that they were all either dead or in jail. But there was now an operating serial killer closeby, that made the young girl terrified to even walk outside.
Something about him always tormented Bella. She didn't know whether that was the fact that he killed 20 people or the fact that he completely vanished. She knew that it was both of these things combined. Who was The Boston Reaper? Where did he go?
Tossing and turning in bed, Bella's forehead beaded with sweat. She was trapped in a horrific nightmare, seeing The Boston Reaper kill someone right in front of her. She attempted to draw her gun but it was missing, she attempted to call out for someone but she didn't have a voice. The Boston Reaper slowly turned around and started to walk towards her. But when she turned to run, she couldn't at all. The Reaper inched closer and closer before he was finally about to grab her...
"No!" Bella cried out, quickly snapping out of the dream and sitting up in bed. She was drenched in sweat and her heart was pounding as she attempted to catch her breath.
"What?" Spencer asked, his voice groggy. He quickly reached over to his nightstand and turned on his lamp. "Bella, what's wrong?"
Bella shook her head as Spencer reached out, rubbing her back. She buried her face in her hands and tried to calm herself down enough to speak. She wiped away the sweat on her lip and looked over at the clock on the nightstand, it reading 2:18 a.m. She had to be at work in less than 5 hours.
"It was just a bad dream," she whispered. "I-I've had it ever since I was little."
"What happens in it?" Spencer asked softly.
Bella sighed, "Do you remember The Boston Reaper? He operated from 1995 to 1998...he killed 20 people."
Spencer nodded, "Yeah, I remember him well. There's only ever been one survivor. Hotch worked that case, eventually, The Reaper just disappeared. I think it eats at Hotch to this day."
"I found out about him when I was young and for some reason...he's just always haunted me. I don't know what it is about him. I've had the same dream forever, he's killing someone in front of me but I can't scream and I can't run. He reaches out to grab me and I wake up, I never know what happens once he grabs me."
"And you never will," Spencer grinned. "He's gone, Bells. He made a promise to Hotch that he would disappear if they stopped investigating...and he's kept that promise. Besides, we're in Washington D.C., you don't have to worry about The Boston Reaper coming to get you here."
Bella grinned, feeling silly, "I know that...I just don't know why I've had the same dream over and over again for years. I think the last time I had it was about 5 years ago. It scares me each time."
With a nod, Spencer kissed Bella on the forehead and rubbed her back again. He turned off the lamp and laid down, opening up his arms. Bella grinned and laid down, Spencer wrapping her in his arms. She laid her head on his chest, listening to his steady heartbeat. She held his hand, wanting to feel as close to him as possible.
"I didn't know that Hotch worked this case," Bella whispered. "Has he ever talked about it?"
"Not really," Spencer answered. "That's why I think it eats at him. A serial killer was able to exert power over him and get away with murdering 20 innocent people. That would eat at me too."
Bella sighed, "Poor Hotch...I wonder if he ever caught even a glimpse of The Reaper. I bet he's terrifying in real life. Don't you think he's absolutely horrifying?"
Spencer chuckled in her ear, "Love, you've dealt with so much worse than The Reaper. He's not going to come after you or anyone for that matter. You're going to be ok, Bells. I'm here, ok? I'm here."
Bella slowly closed her eyes as Spencer stroked her hair. She felt herself slowly falling back to sleep, comforted by Spencer's warmth and the way his chest rose and fell with each calm breath. She finally felt peace wash over her. Everything was going to be ok...she was with Spencer and she was safe.
The nightmare returned 2 hours later.
* * *
Bella let out a loud yawn as she struggled to keep her eyes open. Spencer did the same, covering his mouth as he yawned and slowly blinking. He rested his chin on the palm of his hand, wishing that he was back in bed and fast asleep.
"Pretty boy," Derek chuckled, walking by the young doctor and messing up his hair. "Why are you and Dimples so tired? Wait...don't tell me...I don't think I want the answer to that question. I always talked about how I want to see you two have baby geniuses, but I don't want to know any of the details of how they would be made."
"Come on, man," Spencer said, rolling his eyes and earning a chuckle from Derek. "It's 7:00 in the morning, any normal person would be tired right now. You don't have to make this gross."
Derek let out a laugh and slapped Spencer on the back, "I'm just messing with you, kid. You're both adults, what you two do in your free time is none of my business."
"Exactly...IT'S NONE OF YOUR BUSINESS!"
Letting out another laugh, Derek walked to his desk and sat down. Bella felt her eyes begin to close as she rested her head on top of a stack of papers. She didn't understand why their job had to start so early, why couldn't it start at noon? For a split second, she considered feigning illness and going home to sleep. But she knew that the team needed her and she couldn't bail on them.
JJ walked past Bella with cups of coffee from Dunkin' Donuts. Bella groaned at the scent of the horrible beverage, it causing her to feel even more uncomfortable. JJ looked over at the miserable blonde and scrunched her eyebrows together.
"What's her problem?" she mouthed over to Derek.
Derek raised his eyebrows and glanced over at Spencer. JJ quickly got the hint, raising her eyebrows as well and giving a slow nod. Bella lifted her head off of the stack of papers and looked over at her two co-workers.
"I know that you're talking about me," she said. "I'm tired, ok? Is that such a crime around here? We deal with serial killers every day, people! I barely slept...so you can both stop being gross and nosey."
JJ chuckled, "No...I get it. I wish you were a coffee drinker, you could definitely use this right now. You're definitely going to want it soon."
"Why's that?" Emily asked, blowing on her coffee.
With a sigh, JJ held up a case file, "We're going to Boston. You're not going to believe this but...we think that The Boston Reaper has struck again."
Bella felt herself choke on the air that she was breathing. She stared at JJ in shock, wondering if she had fallen asleep and was still stuck in a nightmare. This could not be happening, she didn't want to believe it. She felt sick to her stomach, not understanding how this could be happening at all.
"No way," Emily said. "How can you be sure?"
"There was just a double murder in Boston, same M.O. as The Reaper," JJ answered. "Trust me, I couldn't believe it at first either. Hotch...he isn't taking this well. The detective that worked this case with Hotch is dead...the person that The Reaper made the deal with. Now the deal isn't a thing anymore and he can continue to kill."
"I can't believe this," Derek breathed. "I thought he was gone for sure."
JJ and Emily nodded in agreement as Bella kept silent. She quickly looked over at Spencer, noticing that he was already staring at her. He looked just as shocked as she did, confused by everything that was coming out of JJ's mouth. For a second, he also thought that he was in a nightmare.
"How-how did you...how did you dream this?" Spencer whispered.
Bella shook her head and shrugged, "Spencer...please tell me that this isn't real. Please confirm for me that this isn't happening."
"I wish I could, love."
Spencer stood up and made his way over to Bella's desk. He kissed the top of her head and began to softly massage her shoulders in an attempt to comfort her. Typically anything that Spencer did calmed Bella, but right now nothing was. She felt broken and she felt absolutely empty inside.
Her dreams made no sense to her, it was as if her subconscious was trying to warn her. The Boston Reaper was haunting her, and now she was going to have to deal with him personally. She never thought this day would come and she never wanted it to. She felt herself begin to shake as she stood up.
She pushed past Spencer and ran into the bathroom where she began to throw up violently.
* * *
"The Reaper is all about exerting his power and control," Hotch said, pacing back and forth in the police station. "Having control over the police, ordering them to stop looking for him in exchange for him to stop killing, was his ultimate method of control. He got away with it."
"The only survivor, 28-year-old George Foyet, was the only one to ever survive," Rossi added. "After The Reaper would murder someone, he would make a phone call exposing the location of the bodies. That phone call ultimately saved George's life, they found him barely breathing while his date was dead. The Reaper never made any calls after that."
"There's a reason he left Foyet's glasses at the last crime scene, he could be in danger. The Reaper always takes something from a victim and leaves something from a previous victim behind."
"Then we have to protect Foyet," Emily said.
Hotch nodded, "We will. Snow, I want you with me on this one."
With some hesitation, Bella slowly stood up and followed Hotch out the door. She didn't have the nerve to tell him that she would rather stay at the station. She didn't have the nerve to even tell him that she didn't want to work on this case at all.
Instead, she just followed along.
* * *
"How'd you guys find me?" George asked, taking some pills.
"The reporter, Roy Colson," Hotch answered.
"Oh...well is this going to take long? I really can't be late for work."
"What do you do?"
"I'm a freelance computer specialist for the city."
Bella studied George's face, staring at him deeply. He was the only person to ever survive The Reaper. He looked hurt and traumatized, as anyone would be if a serial killer attacked and tried to kill you. He quickly glanced over at her, quickly scanning her face before turning back to Hotch. Bella couldn't help but furrow her eyebrows.
"Are these yours?" Hotch asked, handing George a pair of glasses that were found on the latest victim.
"I knew it wasn't a copycat," George answered before being sent into a fit of coughs. He sat down quickly, coughing into a napkin. Bella grabbed a nearby cup and filled it with water before handing it to the man. He grinned up at her, his eyes glued to hers. "Thank you."
"Of course," Bella responded softly, an odd feeling washing over her the closer she got to George.
George swallowed roughly, "I was going to propose to my girlfriend that night but I got cold feet. Later that night he approached us and he said he was lost. He had one of those sightseeing booklets. I was looking at it when he stabbed me. I couldn't move...I just sat there bleeding. I watched him kill her...I watched him kill Mandy. He stabbed her 67 times. Do you know how long it takes to stab somebody 67 times?"
"Have you ever received any strange letters or calls?" Hotch asked. "Hangups?"
George shook his head and continued to drink his water. Bella continued to stay silent, looking over the man, and analyzing his every move. She knew that she shouldn't be so hesitant and judgemental around a victim. But something about him was off and Bella didn't know why. She couldn't understand why she was getting terrible vibes from him.
"We can take you somewhere safe until this is all over," Hotch said.
"No," George answered almost immediately. "Boston is my home. It's the one thing I promised I would never let him take from me."
"Then we will protect you here."
George shook his head, "You can't protect me...nobody can. Why can't you catch him?"
"We will," Bella spoke up, the words escaping out of her mouth. "Thank you for your time, Mr. Foyet."
George nodded, "I'm sorry...I didn't catch your name when you first arrived."
"I'm Dr. Bella Snow."
"Dr...so young to be one."
Bella gave a thin smile and nodded, "Have a good day."
She and Hotch left the house hastily, the words still clinging to Bella's skin. She could tell that Hotch found it peculiar as well. Without a word, the two agents got into their car and drove away.
Even after driving miles away from George, she could still feel his presence lingering around them.
* * *
Bella and Hotch stood outside of The Reaper's most current kill site. He had murdered 7 people on a bus in cold blood, leaving behind the words 'No Deal' along with a string of numbers. Bella looked at the bodies, seeing that he had shot and stabbed each person.
Looking over, she saw Hotch's face turn a pale white. He looked absolutely horrified and completely devastated. She watched as he shook his head and stormed off the bus, a giant cloud of gloom hovering over him.
"Hotch!" Bella called out, getting off the bus and chasing after him. "Hotch, wait! Hotch!"
"What?" he snapped, turning around and rubbing his forehead.
Bella tilted her head, "You can talk to me. You can trust me."
Hotch took a deep breath and rubbed his eyes, "He-he called me tonight at my hotel and offered me the deal. I hung up on him...and then he does this. This...this is my fault."
"Aaron," Bella said softly, stepping closer towards her boss. "This isn't on you at all."
"Snow, I had 10 years to do something about this! I had 10 years to solve this case and put him away!"
Bella frowned, "Aaron...he stopped killing after this deal was made. In those 10 years, you worked on other cases and you helped put away many bad people. You worked on ACTIVE cases!"
"I kept coming back to this...I kept coming back to this profile."
"Aaron, listen to me. I get it...I get how you feel completely. The Reaper has haunted me for years, not as bad as you, but he's been stuck with me for a very long time. I hate this bastard and I hate everything that he has done. I want to see him be put away, trust me. But right now we need to keep a clear mind and look forward. Catching him is the only thing we should focus on right now. Don't end up like Gideon, blaming yourself and running away. This is The Reaper's fault, all of it is his fault."
Hotch sighed, taking in each word that the brilliant Bella Snow was saying to him. He knew that the only thing they could do right now was try to arrest this guy. Hotch wanted to see him thrown in jail for the rest of his life.
"I know," Hotch mumbled. "I just...I want this fucker thrown away forever."
"I do too," Bella say, reaching out and rubbing Hotch's arm in a soothing manner. "But right now we need to stay focused and not let guilt eat us up. If we let that happen then we wouldn't be able to accomplish anything. Oh and, Aaron Hotchner, if you even think about leaving the BAU then I will personally kick your ass."
Hotch let out a chuckle as Bella smiled, "Don't you think that's a little dramatic?"
Bella shrugged, "I've always been quite dramatic."
With a grin, Hotch playfully patted Bella on the shoulder, "Good luck trying to kick my ass, pipsqueak."
"These fists are made of steel, Aaron Hotchner."
The two agents laughed together as they turned, continuing their hunt for The Reaper.
* * *
Hours felt like seconds to Bella. The team quickly analyzed the numbers left on the bus, realizing that they were connected to George Foyet. The next second Derek was attacked by The Reaper, getting bruises and his credentials stolen. Everything came crashing down once the team realized that George Foyet was The Reaper.
Bella's mind was spinning as everything suddenly clicked into place for her. She silently cursed herself for not trusting her instincts and telling Hotch about the bad feelings she got around George. She was appalled at the fact that she had a normal conversation with The Reaper, a man who haunted her sleep for years, and didn't even know it. She wanted to throw something. She wanted to break something. She knew that she had just scolded Hotch for letting this case control him and guilt him, but now she was feeling every single one of his emotions.
It was so obvious, it was right in front of them. George Foyet had claimed to have been in love with his 19-year-old student, a girl he hadn't known for more than 4 weeks. His job as a teaching assistant gave him plenty of access to young girls. The things he said to Hotch and Bella 'why can't you catch him' and 'do you know how long it takes to stab somebody 67 times?' suddenly began to click. He was testing them...he was testing them all. He had stabbed himself enough times to live and pretended to be a victim so the police wouldn't suspect him. All the information the police gathered about The Reaper came from George Foyet himself, he was playing all of them.
The team was now racing to save Roy Colson, a reporter working on The Reaper case. Bella wanted to be anywhere but there. She wished that they were working on any other case. This would haunt her for the rest of her life.
"It's over," Hotch said, pointing his gun directly at George Foyet.
"Stop, I'll kill him," George growled, getting up and pointing a gun at Roy.
"You need him to write your story. You're greedy and narcissistic, you want the fame that will come from that book he's gonna write. You want the fame that's gonna come from the media. It's gonna be like Bundy."
"I'll take him with me. I'll let him go as soon as I'm safe."
"No, you won't."
George snarled, "I'm going to be bigger than Bundy."
"You can't enjoy it if you're dead."
Bella gripped her gun tighter as Emily, Spencer, and Derek moved into the room. Each agent had their gun pointed directly at George, not afraid to fire at any moment. Looking at him made Bella's stomach churn. His eyes were cold and dead. He was completely soulless.
"It's your move, George," Hotch continued. "You're the serial killer. What's going to happen next?"
George grinned, "You're right...hi Derek. Hello Dr. Snow."
Bella's heart dropped as he lowered his gun and set it down, Derek moving in and grabbing him roughly. Derek's eyes flashed with anger as he put George in handcuffs.
"Where's my badge?" Derek asked, his voice plagued with frustration. "Where is it, you son of a bitch?"
"I'm going to be more famous than you even realize," George grinned.
"Keep dreaming."
Derek led George out of the house, the rest of the team allowing themselves to lower their guns and catch their breath. Bella frowned and looked over at Hotch, him quickly making eye contact with her. He frowned and quickly nodded before scurrying out of the house behind Derek.
"Are you ok?" Spencer asked, grabbing Bella's elbow softly.
"I'm fine," Bella breathed, Spencer still studying her face. "I-I will be fine."
"He's gone now, Bella. You don't have to worry about him anymore."
"You told me that last time, Spencer, and look what happened."
Spencer nodded and rubbed his girlfriend on the back. He knew that this stressed her out more than any other case. He knew that she already had nightmares about Foyet, and how they would probably get worse now.
"I'm sorry," he whispered. "I'm sorry, Bells."
All she did was nod and walk off.
* * *
The team quietly packed up their things, trying to make peace with everything that just happened. They knew that Foyet was behind bars now, and they knew that the city of Boston could sleep peacefully again. Cases like this haunted the team forever. It broke their hearts.
Bella couldn't understand why she didn't feel at peace. She had been there to witness Foyet get arrested and sent to prison. She knew that there was no way for anything to possibly go wrong. But something wasn't feeling right, it felt like the universe was tilting.
"Do you want to come over?" Spencer quietly asked, walking up behind Bella. She jumped and turned around, quickly realizing that it was only Spencer. "It's just me, Bells. Sorry for sneaking up on you."
"You're fine, I'm just..." Bella said, her words trailing off.
Spencer raised an eyebrow, "Just what?"
Bella shook her head and put on her coat, "I don't know. Something isn't feeling right...I think I just need some sleep."
"Let me take you home," Spencer said sweetly, softly grabbing her hand. "I'll stay with you. I don't think you want to be alone right now, I can sense that."
Bella felt herself grin, Spencer grinning back in return. She nodded as Spencer lifted up her hand, kissing her on the knuckles. The two agents grabbed their go bags and started to make their way out the doors when JJ came racing in.
"Foyet escaped!" she exclaimed, the room going dead silent. "The guards found him in his cell vomiting blood and convulsing. They rushed him to the prison hospital. He had schematics for the electrical, heating, and water ducts for the East Woburn Correctional Facility. In fact, he had schematics for every jail, prison, and courthouse in Massachusetts. He had 10 years to plan."
"What?" Bella shouted, feeling the world around her crumble. "He-he escaped? How the hell...he...are you sure?"
JJ nodded, an expression of terror glued on her face. Bella shook her head and felt tears spring to her eyes. After all of their hard work, he was able to escape. He was able to continue to terrorize the team. He was able to continue to terrorize her when she slept.
Bella pulled away from Spencer's hand and tried to catch her breath. Spencer's voice sounded like static to her as he reached out, trying to calm her down.
"D-don't," Bella said, pushing away Spencer's hand. "I-I can't take this anymore."
"Snow, go home," Hotch ordered, seeing how much distress this was putting on the young agent. "I need the rest of you here."
Without any hesitation, Bella turned on her heel and rushed out the door. She didn't bother to take the elevator, instead she bounded down the stairs and rushed outside. The minute the cold air hit her face, she felt herself begin to unravel. She looked up at the sky and stared at the stars. She envied them.
They didn't have to feel any pain.
* * *
RING. RING. RING.
That noise was pulling Bella out of a peaceful sleep. She groaned into her pillow, wanting the noise to go away as soon as possible. She had just worked a terrible case about one of the only people she feared on this planet. She was drained and she was exhausted.
Her phone continued to ring over and over again. Bella flipped over, grabbing the phone angrily. She flipped it open without looking to see who was calling. Frankly, Bella didn't give a damn who was calling. She was going to kick the ass of anyone who would call her after working The Reaper case.
"Are we being called out again?" Bella huffed into the phone. "Seriously, we just worked a terrible case. George Foyet has escaped prison. Don't ruin my life even more by saying we have to investigate ANOTHER sicko who wants to murder a month before Easter. It's 8:00 in the morning...this killer better be doing something interesting to even garner an ounce of my attention."
The person on the other line chuckled, it turning into a loud laugh. Bella furrowed her eyebrows and sat up in bed, confused as to who was calling her.
"You're not being called out," the voice answered, still laughing. "I'm sorry for calling you this early, I forget that not everyone is an early riser like me...especially an FBI agent."
"Who is this?" Bella asked, not recognizing the voice.
"It's Doug! Doug Harper...your classmate."
"Oh," Bella said, her eyebrows still furrowed. "Hi, Doug. What-what's up?"
Doug sighed, "I was just calling you to make sure that you're ok. I heard about The Reaper returning and I know how much he terrified you when we were kids. Once I heard that the BAU was working on the case I had a feeling that it was bothering you."
"Oh, um, yeah it was really horrifying. I can't believe that you remember when I found out about The Reaper. But I'm fine, I'm home right now and just...trying to sleep."
"That's good to hear!" Doug exclaimed, clearly not taking the hint. "Of course I remember when you found out...you kept talking about the nightmares you would have."
"Right..."
Something was off and Bella didn't like it. She hadn't spoken to Doug for years and now he was suddenly calling her and acting like they were still best friends. Doug had always been the harmless guy in school. He always followed behind Bella, Hyacinth, and Gianna. He tried to fit in so badly.
But something about always gave Bella the creeps and she didn't know why. Each time that she was around him she would feel awkward and uneasy. It was as if she could sense something wrong going on with him. She always blew it off and would convince herself that she was just being judgemental. But she knew that something was off. Something was always off.
"Doug," Bella continued. "How did you get my number?"
He went silent for a second, Bella listening to his shallow breathing. She knew that he was trying to come up with an excuse that didn't sound completely crazy.
"I got it from Phoebe during the funeral," Doug answered softly. "I've always wanted to stay in touch with you...but I was too nervous to ask you for your number. I'm sorry if this comes off as strange in any way. We just...we used to be such good friends and I miss that."
"Oh," Bella answered. "Yeah, that-that's ok. You don't have to be nervous around me, Doug. I don't bite."
"I know that. I've just...I've always been nervous around beautiful women."
Bella laughed uncomfortably as Doug let out a laugh as well. She felt uneasy and wanted to slam her phone shut. She wanted to pretend that this conversation never happened. Everything about it was making her feel sick to her stomach for some reason.
"Doug," Bella said. "I-I'm really exhausted. I can call you later, but right now I really have to sleep. I'm sorry!"
"No, it's fine!" Doug exclaimed. "I totally get it, don't worry! I'll talk to you later, Bella."
"Alright...bye."
"Sleep well!"
Bella quickly hung up, slamming her phone shut and staring at it. She placed her phone back on her nightstand and tried to shake away the conversation she had. Laying back down, she turned on her side and shut her eyes. She attempted to fall back into the peaceful sleep that she was having before the phone call but couldn't. Doug had ruined that.
She wished that Spencer was next to her.
____________________
Song: "The Longest Time" by Billy Joel
EPISODE IN THIS CHAPTER: SEASON 4, EPISODE 18 "OMNIVORE"
A/N: Thank you all so much for reading!! Remember to vote and please leave comments, COMMENTS ARE MOTIVATION! Also, if any of you see this story mentioned on Tik Tok PLEASE tag me in the comments or send me a DM of the Tik Tok. I'd love to thank the creator and interact with all of you! Again, my Tik Tok is matthewgraygublershands1. Stay safe and healthy! See you all soon!