LAUGHTER LINES, spencer reid.

chapter twenty eight

LAUGHTER LINES.
chapter twenty eight.

January 18, 2012, Berkeley, California

Dr. Bradley clicked his tongue reproachfully as he stared at the television in front of him. He was watching the Bay Area afternoon news. They were talking about the two young Berkeley graduate students that had been killed in Marin County. Dr. Linton crossed his arms as he let his mind wander. Dr. Linton was tall, with thick salt and pepper hair, light auburn eyes, and he was well built. He was in a pair of tan slacks, and a dark blue button dress shirt.

Gwen came walking into the office, flipping through a textbook. "You always pick the most interesting readings for your English 45C class," she said lightly. She stopped scanning the pages when she didn't get a response. "What? No witty retort. Dr. Linton, I'm disappointed." She looked at the TV, narrowing her eyes as she saw a man talking to a throng of reporters.

Dr. Linton glanced over briefly before nodding at the TV. He pointed his remote at the TV to turn up the volume. "The news is saying that the Zodiac Killer has returned."

Gwenevere couldn't stop the scoff that escaped her lips. "If the Zodiac Killer is back, then I'm a flying monkey and this office is the fantastical Land of Oz"

Dr. Linton snorted. "And what does that make me?" he asked humorously.

"Elphaba," Gwen smirked teasingly. She turned her attention back to the TV as Spencer Reid popped up on the screen. Gwen fumbled with the textbook in her hands, nearly dropping it. "Spencer?" she asked in a low whisper.

Linton looked over the rim of his glasses at the TV. "So that's your boyfriend," he chuckled as Gwen smiled in amusement.

Gwen nodded as she watched Spencer as he confronted the man.

Spencer's tone was curious, but there was a near untraceable hint of condensation. "Was your cousin by chance a fan of Wagner? Because a CD of the Tragic Overture was sent to the police this morning."

The man being interviewed nodded quickly. "He loved Wagner, especially the Tragic Overture. It's him."

Gwen sat on the edge of Linton's desk, keeping her eyes on the television. "Brahms composed that piece. I had a discussion with Spencer about it last week when Greg was writing up his report on the composer for his Orchestra class."

Reid had a slight grin on his face. "Oh yeah," he turned to the camera. "Well for the record, a CD was not sent to the police this morning, and the Tragic Overture was written by Brahms, not Wagner, so luckily, I guess it's not your cousin." He glanced back at the man before facing the camera again. "The FBI would greatly appreciate it if people would stop making false claims to get their fifteen minutes of fame. Thank you. Thank you very much."

Linton turned off the TV as he vibrated in laughter, the wrinkles around his eyes creasing. "I like him. I like him a lot."

Gwen's smile grew as she opened the textbook once more. "He's a great guy," she said simply. She kept her face down as she attempted to read some classic Jonathan Swift. She felt her phone buzz in her back pocket and she jumped slightly. Deciding to ignore the text message for the moment, she looked up to see Linton watching her.