To Solve

Chapter 22: Sex, Birth, Death

"You know, Spence, I thought we could try out this new casserole recipe this weekend. My mom emailed it to me the day before yesterday. She said it was delicious," Parker suggested.

It was an ordinary morning, and the couple was on their way to work. Today was Tuesday, so they grabbed a coffee to go before getting on the tram.

"Sure, sounds great," Spencer agreed as they walked up the wide stairs to the platform. "And then we–"

"You're Dr. Reid," Spencer was suddenly addressed.

Standing in front of him and Parker was a boy– a teenager, maybe 16.

"I'm sorry, do I know you?"

"I just know what you are doing," the boy answered boldly. "Both of you."

"Okay," said Spencer.

He turned around and was about to leave, but the boy continued to stop the two of them.

"Look, I saw you at Georgetown a few weeks ago. You gave a lecture on sexual sadism and how you helped catch the Mill Creek Killer in St. Louis."

"Uh... Not much of a public speaker," Spencer said, slightly embarrassed.

"I don't know, I thought you seemed cool."

"You look kind of young to go to Georgetown," Parker wondered.

"Um, I'm a junior at Northwest High School," the teenager confessed.

That sounded more believable, Parker thought.

"And you just go to lectures on anger-excitation for fun?" Spencer wanted to know.

"I don't have a lot of friends."

"So, you're interested in profiling?"

"Yeah, I mean, I read a lot. You know, true crime, like graphic novels mostly. They're all about whether there's really such a thing as evil. Or like nature versus nurture, all that. So I figured it' "d be smart to hear it from an expert– two experts," the boy babbled. "So you said a lot of them killed prostitutes?"

"That's the number one serial killer target, actually," Spencer explained.

"Is that for sex or because they think they're dirty and they need to be punished?" the teenager asked.

This question puzzled both profilers. She was way too specific.

"Were you waiting here for us?"

"What would it mean if someone were stabbing them and cutting off their hair?"

"I've never heard of a case like that. Do you want to go to the BAU with me and maybe talk to some of my other team members?"

"I actually have to go to school," the teenager tried to excuse himself.

He started moving and quickly ran down the stairs.

"Give me your name and your number and I'll call you. And–"

Spencer and Parker tried to catch up with the teenager, but the people going up the stairs blocked their path and the boy disappeared into the crowd.

Spencer quickly grabbed Parker's hand and pulled her up the stairs to catch the next train.

~~

"Did I miss something?" Spencer asked as they stood in the elevator.

He drew a sketch of the boy the rest of the way to the office. It was a bit abstract, but it looked like the boy.