Psychopathy

Chapter 35- The Green Notebook

Trigger warning: Chapters 35 and 36 contain descriptions of violence against children.

Isabel gently ran her fingers along the scratches on her face. The little demon's claws were small and couldn't dig deeply into her skin, but damn if they didn't hurt. It was currently sleeping on her lap, tired from its latest attack, occasionally baring its teeth in sleep. She wondered what it was dreaming about. If it wasn't a vicious little devil, it might actually be cute.

"Isabel." Her head popped up as the lake spoke in her mind and the rocking in her veins grew stronger.

"Yes?"

"You're holding something back."

"What do ye mean?" she wondered. Which thing was the lake referring to? She'd held several things back her entire life- secrets that she wanted to keep to herself. Secrets that no one else had any business knowing. Was that what the lake was referring to? What did it want from her?

"I can help you, but only if you're honest with me. When you were in the water, I sensed a lifetime of pain and suffering, especially as a child. But I only know of what you've experienced down here. Why don't you tell me more?"

"Why? What does my childhood have to do with anything?"

"I need to know. That way I know I can count on you to fight back when the time comes. And afterward, I need to know that you'll survive when you escape this place. If you can't do either of those things, then why should I help you?"  Isabel knew that the lake had a point. She knew full well that she would fight when the time was right. And she knew that she'd survive the aftermath. But it wasn't enough that she knew those things. The lake needed to know them, too, or she wouldn't receive any help from it.

"Ye're right."

"So tell me. What happened to you as a child?" With a deep breath and a quick glance to make sure the little demon was still sleeping and the devil was still away, Isabel hung her head and divulged everything.

****************

Reid looked down at the black notebook, rubbing his face in frustration. He'd been looking through the notebook for hours now, but it had yet to reveal its secrets. He wasn't sure if his frustration was at the lack of an answer, or that he wasn't able to find the answer. He was the one who always cracked codes and ciphers for the team, and yet, he couldn't crack this one. It was frustrating that he'd spent this long trying to crack the code and he had yielded no results.

And it had been some time. Akilah had found the black notebook and Teresa had cracked the first code in mid-September. It was now the last week in October, only a few days before Halloween. But even Spencer Reid couldn't get into the Halloween spirit this year. Rossi's first ex-wife, Carolyn, had died two days before and even though most of them had never met her, they were all grieving with him. And if that wasn't enough, the notebook and its uncrackable cipher were really bringing down his spirit.

Teresa had said that Ciara created her ciphers so that only those who really knew her would figure them out and that anyone else would stay out of her business. Reid had thought he knew Ciara. He thought he had known her well. But if he knew her so well, then why couldn't he figure this damn puzzle out? If he knew her so well, why was the answer still eluding him?

With every turn of this case, Reid was realizing that he really hadn't known Ciara at all. He'd only known the carefully picked pieces she had chosen to share with him. Why couldn't she have just told him? Why had she decided to hide her family, her past, and her deal with the Director from the team? From him? But then again, it seemed to be a family trait. Reid could tell that Teresa was hiding something from him. But what could be so devastating that both Byrne sisters felt they had to hide it from the world?