Eidetic - A Criminal Minds/Spencer Reid Story

Chapter Thirteen - Family Matters

"In every conceivable manner, the family is link to our past, bridge to our future." - Alex Haley

*Spencer Reid*

The profile we had developed so far wasn't much, but it was more than we had before. We knew that our unsub was knowledgeable about medical dosages and knew he way around general anethesia and that he was strong enough to be able to subdue young people who were physically fit. But we were still missing a concrete answer on why he was removing the skin. Viv came up with the theory that he was suffering from some kind of delusion, but we needed more evidence in order to be sure. We also didn't know how he was selecting his victims. All four victims had different oncologists and all of their personal staff checked out.

"Okay, let's go over everything again," Hotch said once we had given the preliminary profile to the rest of the department. "What do all of the victims have in common?" Everyone took a seat at the conference table.

"All four victims were in the early stages of different cancers," JJ said.

"They're all young and physically fit, aside from the whole cancer thing," Morgan added in.

"But, other than that that's it," Viv said. "They all went to different colleges, majored in different things, and were all from different parts of the city. These victims never crossed paths."

"They have to be connected in some other way. We're still missing how our unsub is selecting his victims," Rossi said.

Hotch crossed his arms and thought to himself for a few seconds. "Reid and Viv, go talk to Jane Lidel's parents and see what else you can find out."

"You sure you want to send those two? They might disappear to God knows where," Morgan joked. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Viv flip off Morgan slyly without Hotch noticing and I smiled to myself.

"I trust that they won't. I'm sure they both like their jobs too much to do such a thing," Hotch said jokingly without even breaking a smile. Viv and I stood up from the table, walked out of the building, and hopped into the SUV.

"It gets pretty annoying when all of your friends are profilers and can figure out exactly what's on your mind doesn't it?" Viv said once we had driven off.

"You have no idea," I replied.

She took one of her hands off of the wheel, reached over, and grabbed mine. It was a simple gesture that I saw couples do all the time, but I felt butterflies in my stomach when her fingers touched mine. Call me a hopeless romantic, but every little thing that she did made me fall even harder than before.

We arrived at the Lidel's house twenty minutes later which was located in a suburb ten miles north of downtown. It was a simple two-story cottage with a good-sized porch and a large front yard. A stone walkway led up to the front porch and an American flag hung from the entryway. "Typical southern suburban home," Viv said.

"Hanging a confederate flag would make it even more southern," I said as Viv turned off the car. We got out and walked up the stone walkway and up the front porch stairs. After ringing the doorbell, a middle-aged man opened the door and we showed him our badges.

"Mr. Lidel, I'm SSA Vivian Santos and this is Doctor Spencer Reid," Viv said. "We would like to ask you a few questions about your daughter."

"We already told the police everything," he said quickly, but before he could close the door, a dark-haired woman stepped in front of him and held the door open.

"Sweetheart, they're only trying to find the person who did this to our baby," she said. She stepped aside and motioned for us to come inside. Viv and I followed her into the living room. Mr. and Mrs. Lidel sat down on the couch while I sat down in an armchair that was next to it while Viv remained standing. "Would you like anything to drink? I know it must be boiling hot out there," Mrs. Lidel asked. Typical southern hospitality. I shook my head.