Please Don't Go (The Story of Us Book 3)

Chapter 24- Mischief Night

The team headed to Detroit, Michigan to investigate the arsonist. It becomes clear to them as they discuss the case on the jet that the arsonist isn't actually an arsonist. He's a killer that used fire as a weapon. This makes it clear that his trigger has something to do with not only fire but a gasoline accelerated fire. Before they land, Amanda dishes out orders, ensuring that Hotch is with Rossi since, at this point, the Italian man is the only one that can stand to be around him for longer than a couple of moments.

Since there is already another body when they arrive, it gives them something to look into, and since he was with his wife up until the point that he was kidnapped, they have a lead. They find out from the wife that the man who took her husband was severely burned on one side of his face. This leads them to make a connection between a man who was severely burned in a car accident by the first victim who he had been arrested with once before.

Once they knew the killer's name, Kaman Scott, it was just a matter of figuring out why he was killing the other victims. By the end of the night, Garcia figures it out after Morgan and Prentiss send her photos of a woman they found at the address Penelope had sent them as Kaman's residence. She's identified as Tracey Anderson and Garcia tells Hotch the address of the diner where the photos of Tracey were taken.

Soon after, she reveals that the diner is on fire. Hotch runs in without thinking to save the owner with the hope that he can help them find Tracey who is supposedly in Ohio at medical school. He gets out that she's close by before Hotch tells the ambulance to take him to the hospital and steps away. He makes his way over to the team that had arrived on the scene and his sister, who has a deep scowl on her face.

"You ran into a burning building. Are you fucking stupid?" She demands. "You have a child. Do want Jack to grow up without any parent?" Before he can answer she storms away with Spencer close on her heels as Morgan hands his phone over to Hotch as Garcia is on the other line. He has her look into Tracey and they find her house. Hotch manages to talk Kaman down by having Tracey reveal that her son was his and that was why she abandoned him after his accident. Then, once her son revealed that she had named him after Kaman, he turned himself in so he could still see his son with Tracey's permission.

The ride back home, early in the morning of October 31st, is when the Hotchner war finally comes to a head. It started when Aaron finished talking to Rossi who told him that he was being an idiot and needed to talk to his sister so he walked over to where she was sitting, surprisingly not with Spencer, and sat across from her. "Happy Birthday." Amanda looks up from the paperwork she was doing with a frown.

"Thanks but can we not do this? I have a headache."

Aaron frowns before noticing that she's doing paperwork. "I thought you had to wear glasses when you got headaches because they affected your vision." Amanda sighs before pushing the paperwork away, realizing that she's not going to get out of this conversation.

"I did but ever since the whole exploding ambulance thing in New York my headaches have been just that. No more migraines. I guess there really was something messed up with my head and it took almost dying to fix it. Figures," she mocks and he frowns before clearing his throat.

"Look, I know that you're angry with me. The whole team is and you're not wrong to be but you have to understand where I'm coming from I--"

"I know where you're coming from Aaron."

"What?" He questions in surprise and she rolls her eyes before cursing herself as the action did nothing but make her head hurt worse.

"Aaron, I'm an actual genius and a profiler. I'm far from stupid and I've looked up to you my whole life. I know how you think. Your ex-wife, your high school sweetheart was just killed by a notorious serial killer that only went after her because of you and now your son doesn't have a mother. You think that if Kristen gets rid of your child it will make her safer but you know she won't so you're being a dick because if you don't claim your child then no other unsub will be able to connect it to you or connect her to you."