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12. the truce

I huff. "That was weird," I muse. Tara rolls her eyes. "He seems like a man who doesn't appreciate women questioning his work or telling him what to do," she says. I agree. "Men," I muse, "They suck." "Amen," Tara says as we climb into the car once more.

We discuss the victimology as we head back to the precinct. "They were definitely locked in," I state, "They were scratching at the doors, or maybe even the windows, trying to find an escape." Tara shakes her head slowly, "That's brutal. The terror and fear he must have imposed on them is insane."

We make it back to the precinct before JJ and Reid, and sit in the empty room. Emily and Alvez must still be interviewing the families. I decide to get coffee, so I leave Tara to her notes and wander the precinct until I find the coffee machine. I get one for Tara as well. I head back to the conference room, and run into Emily as she comes out of one of the interrogation rooms.

"Oh, hey," I say softly, looking everywhere but at her. "Y/n," she breathes, "Hi." I shift awkwardly. "How did the interviews go?" I finally look at her, and my heart falls. She looks just as bad as I feel. "They went okay, didn't give me anything to go off of though," she sighs. "Here," I offer her the coffee I had originally intended for Tara. She looks down at the cup then back up at me. "Thanks," she gingerly takes the cup from me and takes a sip.

"Um, so Tara and I had to tell the coroner to run a tox screen and check for smoke inhalation," I tell her as we walk to the conference room together. "He didn't already do that?" she asks in surprise. I shake my head, "No, because he determined that the single gunshot wound to the head was the only thing that mattered. As well as the shredded fingernails."

She shudders delicately. "Once he runs those scans we'll be able to conclusively decide if in fact the gunshot wounds were the main COD. He could have shot them after they were already dead, or close to it," she thinks out loud. "Those were my thoughts as well," I respond. She opens the door to the conference room for me, and I step inside, murmuring a quick thank you.

Tara looks up at us, an eyebrow raised. I shrug at her as I sit next to her. "I was just telling Prentiss about the coroner's office," I tell her. "Did you tell her what a dick he was?" she asks. I laugh, "No, I didn't. He was an ass, but at least he is going to follow through with what we asked." Tara lifts her shoulders. "Hopefully," she muses.

I sit back in my chair with a sigh. "Well I guess we can start on a preliminary profile while we wait for Reid and JJ to come back," Emily says, eyeing me. Tara nods in agreement, "That's a good idea." I look back in my file at the notes I've made. "He's a thrill-seeker, obviously, using fire while he's in the house with the families," I mutter to myself, "Likes to strike fear and panic in his victims, that's what gets him off. Shoots them once he's done with them. Possible smoke inhalation, depending on how long he lets them live for. Could possibly be dead before he shoots them." I sit back in my chair as I realize, "He has to shoot them, even if they are dead already, that's his ritual."

Tara and Emily exchange a glance. "That's good, Y/n," Emily takes note of my thought, "We will definitely work that into the profile." Alvez comes back, and shares his findings. Both families that were attacked were high-class, with adopted children. "So the unsub is targeting well-to-do families, who are a part of the adoption system. Perhaps the unsub was someone who fell through the cracks, and is lashing out at the ones who made it? I'm going to call Garcia and see if she can find anything," I stand, and call Garcia as I walk from the room.

"Hey, Y/n," Garcia greets me. "What, no snarky greeting for me today, Blondie?" I tease. "Oh, hey, you sound happy! Did you talk with Emily?" she asks. I sigh, "Not yet, but I think we've reached a truce for right now." She sighs, "Good, that's a start. Now, what can I help you with, my liege?"