Hidden In Plain Sight

Bodies

"He hit again..."

Derek Morgan sighed and shook his head as he listened to his coworkers, Penelope Garcia, David Rossi, Jennifer Jareau, Aaron "Hotch" Hotchner, Jason Gideon, and Emily Prentiss, speak about the case at hand.

The team had been chasing a prolific serial killer going by the alias of "Dr. Skitz." for months. And this guy was brutal. He wasn't into torture, so at least his victims never suffered, but it was always a brutal mess at the crime scene. He had been going around for years, gaining people's trust before making his way to their homes, shooting and brutally slashing the victims, stealing their money, and leaving behind what seemed to be a business card with his alias and a number to call. Every time the BAU called the number, they were met with laughter and an extremely cryptic clue that, by the time they figured out the clue, the next victim was dead. He very obviously led a gang as well, as there was always someone to take the fall for Dr. Skitz and, no matter how many times they were asked about him, the only answer the team would receive was always the same, monotonous and rehearsed answer: "Classified. I will not reveal Dr. Skitz's true nature or name."

The team was getting frustrated now. The public had caught wind of the antics of this psychopath and people were starting to speculate that the BAU would never be able to catch this guy, which got on the nerves of all of the agents in the room.

"Are we ever gonna catch a break with this guy?" Derek suddenly asked, breaking everyone from their train of thoughts.

"I mean, think about it. We've been chasing this guy for years. Gideon, you've been making this your life's mission to catch this psycho, and yet we aren't any closer to catching a lead on this asshole, let alone making a profile and catching this guy. He's so unpredictable that I worry we'll never catch him."

"You wanna let the public eye know we've given up?" Gideon spoke suddenly, waiting for Derek's response.

When Derek was silent, he nodded. "That's what I thought. Garcia, do we have anything new on Dr. Skitz?"

"Ballistics came back with the caliber of the bullets used in each of the killings. The killing shots were always done with a .357 magnum revolver. Specifically, this gun," Garcia brought up a picture of a revolver onto the screen. "A Smith & Wesson Model 65 revolver."

"How many people in Quantico own a revolver like that?" Hotch spoke up next.

"Around fifty people at least. I need more outliers to narrow it down for you." Garcia sighed and pouted at her computer screen.

"Don't worry, we'll catch this guy-" Gideon was interrupted by a small noise from Garcia. "What is it?"

"I've been monitoring the web and dark web for any activity related to Dr. Skitz other than the few little things we've been seeing from the news and the occasional worried post on social media and I have something new. An article written by a man named Dr. Spencer Reid breaking down what he believes is the motivation and mindset of the criminal at hand. He blames money or psychosis the most." Garcia spoke quickly.

"Do you have an address?"

"Yes and I have just sent it to Hotch."

"Gideon?" Hotch looked to the older male.

Gideon nodded at Hotch. "Let's go talk to this kid."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Dr. Spencer Reid?"

Spencer sighed quietly as he walked over to the door of his apartment, looking through the peephole before clicking open the locks and opening the wooden door slightly. "I'm not late on my rent again, am I?"

"Dr. Reid, we're not here to talk leasing or rent. My name is Aaron Hotchner, I'm with the FBI. This is SSA Jason Gideon. We're here to ask you a few questions on an article you just posted on Dr. Skitz." Hotch spoke quietly, looking over the lanky man's stature.

"Oh... Yeah... Come on in." Spencer held the door open wider, allowing the two agents inside. "I've always been interested in the FBI. Is it a good job that you two have?"

"It's decent, if you don't mind staring at dead bodies and trying to find a pattern in the killings, that is." Gideon joked quietly.

"You guys work for the BAU?"

"Yeah. Why?"

"Oh, uhm... I've been looking into going into the BAU. I may not have the physical aspects needed for the job, but I have the critical thinking skills and the extensive knowledge that might assist in-"

"We're just here about the article for now, kid. But remind me, and I'll leave my contact information so that we can chat about the idea. I'll answer any questions that you might have before you even think about applying."

Spencer blushed darkly in embarrassment and nodded, pushing his hair out of his face. "Right, um... So what did you want to ask me?"

"How did you come to the conclusion that Dr. Skitz is driven by psychosis or money?" Hotch asked.

"Most serial killers are driven by psychosis and I think, if you take his alias by some sort of standpoint, you'd get the idea that maybe he deals with schizophrenia and is just doing as the voices are telling him to do, which has been sometimes known to lead to these violent strokes such as his killings."

"Or?"

"Or, and the more likely of the two options, he's driven by money, which is evidenced by the fact that there is always a large portion of money missing and missing bank account numbers that usually end in drained bank accounts in the victim's names. I'm only assuming the bank accounts are drained, however."

Hotch and Gideon shared a look, knowing the new insight could lead to a potential break in the case. They started to leave, but not before Gideon, as promised, wrote down his information for Spencer to be able to contact him at. "Once these killings stop, we might be able to accept an application if you fill one out, kid. Call me with any questions you might have."

"Agent Gideon?" Spencer spoke up suddenly, stopping the two agents in their tracks.

Gideon spun around to face the brunette, who looked almost afraid. "Yes?"

Spencer looked away, as if to think about how to word his question for a moment, before looking back to face the older male before him. "Do you think he will stop anytime soon?"

Gideon sighed and looked defeated. "I don't know."

Spencer nodded and watched the two agents leave, before pulling out his phone and answering an incoming call. "Yeah?"

"Bossman. We've got new orders. We're bringing you in."