The Best of Kansas

Dust in the Wind

"Reid, you are a monster-hunting master."

Spencer laughed and slammed the trunk of his car shut, turning around and leaning back against the vehicle. He looked out at the forests and smiled as he spoke. "Garcia, I've barely been doing this a year."

"I know, but—" Garcia paused, struggling with her words for a moment. "It's like—it's like you eat, sleep, and breathe hunting. You're on a serious roll!"

Spencer laughed again and slipped his free hand into his pocket, hiding it from the chill of the crisp, autumn morning. "I guess I have been pretty motivated."

"Yeah, no kidding." Garcia was silent for a second, and when her voice came back, it was tinged with concern. "You're still taking time off, right? You know, sleeping... eating... taking care of yourself?"

Spencer laughed off the brutally appropriate question, trying to make it seem like it wasn't a big deal. "I'm taking good care of myself, Garcia." Except he wasn't. At all.

"So," Garcia chirped cheerfully. "What can I do for you this fine day?"

Spencer continued to look out at the trees, appraising the wooded area with well-trained eyes. "I'm in Glacier National Park in Montana, and I need you to compile a list of all known, fatal animal attacks over the last... let's say fifty years." He pushed off his car and rocked on his heels a bit. "Can you do that?"

"Oh, honey, I can do you one better," Garcia replied with her usual flair. "I can get you a map with little red dots showing where all the bodies and campsites were found."

Spencer rocked on his heels again, smiling. "Garcia, you know what I like."

"You bet I do." Garcia had a smirk in her voice when she spoke. "It'll take me about a half an hour to compile the list, but the map is going to take a little longer. I'll call you as soon as—hold up, someone's coming."

Spencer fell silent but kept the phone pressed to his ear, a smile lingering on his lips. What would we do without our Black Queen?

Spencer still couldn't believe how helpful Garcia was willing to be, especially considering how much was already on her plate. She never failed to help him on his hunts. On top of that, she helped Bobby, meaning she was actually helping the entire monster hunting network.

Spencer didn't want to think about how they would manage without her.

"Reid?"

Spencer immediately snapped out of his thoughts, every muscle in his body tensing up. There was too much fear in that single syllable; it sounded more like a plea than his name.

"Garcia?" Spencer frowned, an uneasy weight settling in his gut. "What's wrong?"

"He's back," she said, her voice barely above a whisper.

Spencer shook his head. "Who's back?"

"Mr. Scratch." Garcia stopped, little noises of speechlessness breaking up the silence. "JJ just came in and told me he's—he's back. He sent us a video. Reid, he's back."

Spencer felt a thrill run though his veins, and the only thing keeping him from being openly pleased was his concern for Garcia. He couldn't help it. He was excited. He had been anxiously awaiting the moment he would be able to latch onto some new evidence and hunt Peter Lewis down like a hellhound.

"Garcia, tell me everything you know."

Garcia stammered for a moment, and then she sniffed and cleared her throat. "Right." She took a deep breath. "He's only struck once so far. It's a—a double-murder suicide in Boston. They found a CD at the crime scene, and it had a video from Mr. Scratch on it."