Eidetic - A Criminal Minds/Spencer Reid Story

Chapter Eleven - Skin and Bones

"The evil that men do lives after them; the good is oft interred with their bones." - Willian Shakespeare

*Vivian Santos*

Since we had to go into work before dawn, Cecilia had to go back to San Francisco on another flight since I wouldn't be able to see her again before she left. It was sad to see her leave, but I promised her that I would come down and visit when I had the opportunity.

After I dropped Cecilia off at the airport, I quickly went home to change out of yesterday's clothes and to wash off my smeared makeup. After I washed my face, I threw on a pair of jeans, a white tank top, and a gray cardigan. I laced up my combat boots and french braided my hair. After making sure everything was in its proper place, I grabbed my go bag and headed out the door.

Spencer and I both knew that the team had figured out that we had left the bar together the previous night, but as far as we were concerned, they didn't need to know what else happened. I smiled to myself as I thought about what had happened between the two of us, and how things were finally beginning to fall into place.

I was the last one to arrive at the BAU. When I walked out of the elevator, Spencer was standing in front of the glass doors waiting for me, and he smiled brightly when he saw me. When I walked up to him, he pulled me into his arms and pecked my lips. "Whoa there, genius, you do know we're at work now right?" I said with a giggle. He just shrugged.

"Nobody's around right now," he replied with a smile.

When we walked into the conference, we were met with stares from everybody. Mostly from Morgan and Garcia, but we did receive a few glances from Hotch, the occasional giggle from JJ, and a thumbs up from Rossi. "What are you guys staring at us for?" I asked, sitting down next to Spencer.

"So, where did you two disappear to last night?" Morgan said with a smile teasing on his lips. "You guys just kind of vanished."

"We have absolutely no idea what you guys are talking about," Spencer replied.

"Oh, I will get the truth out of you two somehow, but for right now you guys have to get to New Orleans," Garcia said. She pressed a button on her remote and three DMV photos of young males popped up. "Two weeks ago today, NOPD found the body of Noah Albert in front of the statue of Jesus Christ at St. Louis Cathedral. The week after that the body of Kyle Casson was found in the same place, and just forty-five minutes ago a few tourists found the body of Daniel Duval." She pressed another button and the pictures of the three dead bodies popped up. Well, what was left of the bodies.

They were completely skinned, and it looked like the skin removal was done with precision and care. This was definitely a first for me. I felt like I was going to be sick and my hand went to my stomach. Spencer grabbed my hand underneath the table and squeezed it. Shaking off the slight nausea, I regained my composure, and sat up in my chair. "What was cause of death?" I asked, flipping through the case file that was in front of me.

"This is where it gets icky," Garcia started. "The victims bled out. They were still alive when they were being skinned." I felt my stomach turn again.

"Believe it or not, skinning people alive was a pretty common torture technique used in medieval times, and there have been recent reports of men being skinned alive in Mexico," Spencer added in. "Most torturers start with the facial skin and then work their way down to the feet. Most victims died before they got to the waist."

"Well, I just lost my appetite for a nice pastry," JJ said.

"Good, because it's going to be a while before we're going to be able to eat," Hotch said. "Wheels up in thirty."