Paranoia - s.reid

A Phone Call from Liz

Everything had been way too perfect for the Reids. Cases were slowing down, everyone was happy with their own hobby and it was evident the couple were in a sort of honeymoon phase.

Spencer entered his wife's office, greeting her with a long kiss. "Hello."

She grinned, toying with the collar of his purple button up, sleeves rolled up to his elbows causing intrusive thoughts. "Hi." She replied, only to be swept up in another kiss.

His lips trailed down her neck, tugging her blouse dangerously low. "I missed you."

Liz hummed, the heated situation only escalating until-

Message from Garcia to BAU Groupchat:
We've got a case. Assemble in the conference room !!!!!!

The pair groaned, her head falling to meet Spencer's shoulder before they shared one last kiss, leaving the room.

"Two years ago, 12 year old Adam Morrissey vanished on his way from school from Franklin, Virginia. At the time, he was living with his mother, who had just gone through a bitter divorce."

"I remember this. His mother and local authorities believed he was abducted by his father and taken to Mexico."

Garcia nodded. "Yes, and then three months after that, 13 year old Jimmy Bennett went missing from Richmond, Virginia just 75 miles away. He was in foster care because both of his parents were drug addicts. He had run away once before, so police assumed that it happened again. The cases were thought to be unrelated until last night. That is when prison guards at Fletcham Correctional Center intercepted an incoming package containing the clothes both boys were last seen in. DNA samples from skin cells found on the clothing were confirmed to match the missing boys, so we know the items are authentic."

Liz narrowed her eyes at the photos. "And there's dried blood on the clothes. That's not a good sign. Who was the package being sent to?"

"Antonia Slade." She instantly dropped her head in her hands.

"She was a serial killer captured 15 years ago, right?"

"The Runaway Killer. She was a clinical social worker and she started this Runaway hotline in order to lure her preferred victims, young teens, to her home."

Lewis had noticed how disturbed the brunette had become. "Lizzy? You alright?"

Hotch interjected. "Elizabeth was almost a victim 19 years ago. The first and only girl she attempted to take."

Garcia gasped as the rest gave her small looks of sympathy. "But there's nothing on record?"

"Because I ran away and shipped myself off to college the next year. Can we move on, please?"

"It says here that she lived with her long-time lover Phil Garmin, who shot himself when police arrived. They found 9 bodies 5 girls, 4 boys wrapped in plastic, encased behind the drywall of her basement. All the victims had been shot in the back of the head. It drove Gideon crazy that she never talked about the murders after her arrest. She never explained why she did it. And she never has."

"The package was postmarked in Roanoke. The return address was the prison. When police went to question the post office, no one could recall who sent it."

JJ almost scoffed. "Okay, I'm going to ask the obvious question here, but do we really think these boys are still alive? Based on the clothes, I'd say it doesn't bode well."

"Well, there is the timing of the package. I mean, why send it now, two years after the kidnappings, if the boys have long been dead? Someone might be trying to replicate one of Antonia's crimes. The boys were too young when they were taken, but they'd be the right age now. What if Antonia's orchestrating this entire thing from behind bars? We need to talk to her."