How Dare You [ReidxReader] - 2nd Edition

(26) An Old Friend and An Old Enemy

"Morning everyone." Hotchner greets you at the round table. "We are called on a case here in Washington D.C. A Swedish tourist has been found dead in their hotel this morning. No passport. The clerk only knew that they are Swedish because they told him at the check-in."

You are skimming through the file. It's not much.

"Has the Swedish Embassy been informed?" JJ asks.

Hotchner nods: "Yes. But they cannot do anything until we actually proof that they are Swedish."

You look at him: "So, we have to treat it like a normal homicide until we find a passport or anything like that?"

"Yes." Hotchner replies briskly.

Spencer looks up from the file: "Has there been another case like that in recent times?"

"Garcia is looking into it." Rossi chimes in.

"JJ, talk to the embassy again and try to find out any information they can give us. Morgan, help Garcia narrowing down possible cases that are connected to this one. You have to go nationwide. Rossi and Reid, interview everyone you can find in the hotel, ask the police for help; also check out the security footage. Byrne is with me; we take a look at the crime scene." Hotchner orders.

Everyone nods and gets up, gathering their stuff. Spencer and you still look a little dazed from your morning intermezzo. You squeeze his thigh before you get up from your chair. He gives you a sweet smile and nods at you.

In the elevator, you ask Hotchner: "Is the body still at the crime scene?"

"Yes. I told them to wait for us."

"Hm." Your thoughts wander, you try to make sense of the case. Why is there no passport? Can we be sure that they are Swedish? And so on.

You don't talk to Hotchner on the way to the hotel. Tapping your fingers on your thigh, you stare out the window. Hotchner breathes in a few times like he wants to start talking but stays quiet.

The police let you into the room after you flashed your badges. Gloved up, you look around. The body lays in the doorway of the bathroom. The room is moderately messy but not enough to look like there has been a fight.

"Cause of death?" You ask the only remaining crime scene technician. She shrugs her shoulders: "Not sure yet. Looks like asphyxiation but you have to wait on the coroner's report."

"Thanks." You nod.

When you turn around, Hotchner is scanning the room, but apparently mostly observing you. You've been with him for like twenty minutes and he already annoys you without even properly talking to you. Is he testing you again?

Sighing quietly, you kneel down next to the body. "Caucasian male, probably between thirty and forty." You observe, mostly talking to yourself. Checking out the parts of the body that you can see without removing clothes, you note: "No visible trauma." You lift the arms: "Scratches on the sides of both hands." Turning your attention to the head, you add: "No signs of strangulation." You bow down closely to the face: "He suffocated."

When you stand back up, Hotchner is right next to you, simply nodding at your observations. You step over the body and into the bathroom to look around. No windows. Closing the door, you notice the small splashes of blood on it. "Hotchner?" You open the door again. He enters the room. Pointing at the blood you found, you search for a vent.

In the corner of the right wall, you see a small grid. You look up at it and back at Hotchner. He tilts his head, obviously not understanding what you are getting at. Pulling out the small knife you have strapped to your ankle, you ask: "Give me a hand?"