Heurism | Spencer Reid¹

CHAPTER FIFTY-THREE: THREE IN ONE

"And power was given to them over a fourth of the earth, to kill with sword, with hunger, with death, and by the beasts of the earth."

     — Revelation 6:8

—

Reconvening at our little conference table at the edge of the office, we get to work. "So, what have we got so far?" Hotch asks, handing the lead of the discussion over to Prentiss.

Stood before us, a whiteboard on one side and the photos of the scene on the other, she begins. "Well, the killings are clinically efficient. They had the earmarks of a slaughter, as in an animal."

"Or a sacrifice," Morgan mutters.

He's not wrong. She starts to write our ideas down. Sighing, Hotch takes a seat at the head of the table. "We haven't been able to find anything in federal or state databases that suggests similar crimes. As far as I can tell, it's the first in the series."

"At least one member of the team may believe he's killing in the name of God, suggesting a psychopathy that should display extreme levels of disorganisation," Reid points out. Coffee in hand, he strides over to the evidence board. "Yet there are forensic countermeasures, and somebody in control enough to do complicated computer work. One member of the team's organised, the other's extremely disorganised, but what's strange is that the one that we would consider as being most in control, the one that made the phone call, can't seem to stop the other one from killing. Usually, the frenzied personality takes direction from the cooler head."

"All right, so let's look at that," Morgan says. "UnSub One called the police before the killing, but he didn't leave time for them to get there. Is the phone call just a guy working on a defence in case of capture? I mean, maybe he didn't want to stop the other, but he did whatever he had to do to cover himself."

"But UnSub Two joined in, he spoke as well," I point out. It's something I just can't get past, no matter how many times I attempt to figure it out. "Even with a frenzied personality, he would know that calling 911 gave them less time to make the kills and escape. He didn't stop One."

Prentiss shrugs. "Maybe it just wasn't worth it at that point," she offers, though it doesn't convince me.

It feels like we have all the answers and yet none. My exact frustration is voiced by Gideon just a second later. "So, what do we have so far?" He waits. None of us reply. "Not enough."

—

When in doubt: take a break and fuel up. It's a rule that has gotten me by plenty of times. So, leaving the stuffy officer, I venture down to the cafeteria with Reid. We stand in the elevator in silence, sandwiches piled up in our arms. I watch the numbers roll by, feeling the ground sway subtly beneath my feet. My mind is still on the case. "What do you think of this?" he asks after a while, disturbing the peace.

"Of the case?"

"Gideon doesn't seem very happy about religion being used as an excuse for killing. You said you were raised Catholic. And even if you don't practice, it clearly holds some significance to you. I just thought... Well, I was wondering how you felt about it. "

I don't reply for a while, just thinking. I'm not even sure why he wants to know. But I think about Gideon, about his faith. How he still believes in a God after all he's seen is beyond me — maybe that's it, though; he needs to believe or it all seems so hopeless. I just shrug. "It doesn't surprise me."

I see his frown mirrored hazily in the steel doors. Still facing ahead, his head tilts slightly in my direction. "Why?"

One thing about Reid is that he never fails to be direct. At least, not unless he's trying really hard to hold something back. He's honest by nature. He trusts. It's one of the things I've come to admire about him, though it's a cause for concern, too. I know what happens to people who trust. But still, I feel a familiar spasm at the corner of my mouth. "People have used faith to justify violence since the day faith was invented. I mean, it's all there in the Bible itself. The Old Testament is steeped in blood — floods, fire, a father ready to kill his own son just to prove something."