To Solve

Chapter 14: The Fisher King - Part Two

"The defects and faults of the mind are like wounds in the body. After all imaginable care has been taken to heal them up, still there will be a scar left behind."

French writer François de la Rochefoucauld.

The coffee machine made a small beep and the young profiler reached for their mug.

It was Parker's favorite mug. It was rainbow colored– Garcia gave it to Parker on their last birthday.

With the fresh coffee, Parker reentered the meeting room, where Spencer, Derek and Hotch were still trying to figure out which book the guy wanted them to use.

"Reid, how many books do you think are published in a year?" asked Hotch.

"In the whole world? Thousands."

"About 1,793,000," Parker gave a more specific answer. "And we don't even know what year the book was published."

The others looked at them and Parker simply explained that they used the internet, because they asked themselves the same question.

They sighed and sat down at the table next to Derek.

"Great, and all we got to do is find one. You know, I can see this UnSub getting our phone numbers and addresses from the Bureau personnel files, but, come on, man. It really says in there that Gideon digs Nellie Fox ?"

"Or that JJ collects butterflies?"

"I didn't even know these things about us."

"'Never would it be night, but always clear day to any man's sight'", Spencer muttered to himself again.

"Reid, not again with the poem from the music box, please."

"There's something familiar about it. I think I've heard it somewhere before," explained Spencer.

"I thought you had a photographic memory."

"Eidetic memory," Spencer corrected. "And that's primarily related to things I read. Like I said, this is something I think I've heard."

"Which leaves us..."

"Nowhere, that's where it leaves us."

"Not necessarily," Gideon entered the room. "How would we proceed if we didn't have all these clues? What's the first thing we'd look at?"

"Victimology," Parker said.

"Why this particular victim in this particular place at this particular time?"

"We have a victim, don't we?"

"Rebecca Bryant."

Gideon took Rebecca's picture from the evidence board and placed it on the table.

"She's missing out of South Boston, Virginia. You can get there in a few hours if you hurry. Take JJ. Find out everything there is to know about this girl."

"You got it," Derek said, got up and left the room.

"Been letting him lead us around like he's something more than he is."

"He's just another UnSub," Hotch said. "I'll start putting together a profile."

He also got up and probably went to his office.

"What do you want us to do?" Spencer wanted to know from Gideon.

"Just keep working on this. If anyone can put it together, you two can."