the great war, spencer reid [ 2 ]

054. miasma

Bedelia and Spencer get back to the BAU after Emily called them in, the couple having just gotten home when they got the text.

"Thank you all for getting back here so quickly." Emily says, walking in. "I got a call from Chief Wheeler at the New Orleans Police Department. They've requested our help. Garcia, go ahead."

"The big easy has its own big bad operating in its midst." Penelope says. "Earlier today, police uncovered a mass grave inside a vandalized crypt."

"Tremé Cemetery." Tara says.

"10 bodies in total were discovered by the groundskeeper this afternoon." Emily says.

"Yeah. The bodies were buried and burned inside the secluded tomb that had been pried open." Penelope says. "They are believed to have been placed there in the last few weeks. The tomb was off limits due to some maintenance being done."

"Looks like local PD is still working on I.D.ing the victims." Rossi says.

"Has a cause of death been determined?" Tara asks.

"No. But the coroner did reveal this one super icky detail -- all of the bodies had been drained of their blood." Penelope says.

"Let's make sure to check on that first thing." JJ says.

"Tremé Cemetery's an active site." JJ says. "It's famous. It's the oldest cemetery in the city."

"Home to Marie Laveau, the voodoo queen of New Orleans, known for her powers of clairvoyance, healing, and intimidation." Spencer says. "Legend has it she once helped free a man accused of murder by praying for 72 hours straight with 3 hot peppers in her mouth."

"Voodoo queen. I mean, is that what this is?" Luke asks. "Some kind of ritualistic killing?"

"I see these Xs here." Matt says. "They're used to denote the grave of a powerful voodoo practitioner."

"Markings like these aren't uncommon in these parts." Bedelia says. "These look like they've been here for a while."

"Could be the reason our unsub chose this particular crypt to do his bidding." Rossi says.

"New Orleans PD wants us there ASAP." Emily says, standing up. "There is one more thing. I won't be coming along. JJ will be acting as unit chief in my absence. I have a meeting with Assistant Director Barnes tomorrow morning. It's short notice, but as far as I understand, it's just a standard administrative review, so I'm sure everything will be fine." She walks out.

"Okay. Um, wheels up in 30." JJ says.

+++

"First Barnes pulls you in for a late night meeting, then Prentiss." Luke says. "It feels like something's going on."

"Yeah, and why all the urgency?" Tara asks. "I mean, it couldn't have waited till we all got back?"

"Something must have triggered an internal review." Rossi says.

"It's me." Spencer says. "It's been almost a year since my arrest in Mexico."

"It's just an annual review." JJ assures. "Standard operating procedure."

"Matt, you worked with Barnes on your last assignment. How much trouble are we in?" Luke asks.

"I mean, I hate to say it, but this is the exact same thing she did with the I.R.T. before disbanding the unit." Matt says. "She started with the head of the team, then she worked her way down. She tried to pit us against each other."

"Barnes' reputation precedes her. She's climbed the ranks well." Rossi says.

"Well, clearly she's good at her job." Tara says.