Lights Of The Mind | cm & al ✓

Chapter Twenty-One

Ashley's POV*

As I said that tonight was feeling normal, it did. Not like the past couple of weeks 'normal' but 'normal' as before I joined the BAU. Everything was fine until after the meet & greet.

As it was nearing towards the end, guards were standing by the restrooms again.

"Spencer, Morgan. Look." I nudged them as I pointed secretly.

"Oh." Spencer gasped quietly.

"Hey, baby. I'll be right back." I whispered to Joey as I kissed his cheek.

"Okay. Be careful, I love you." He whispers back.

"I will. I love you too." I said quietly. Morgan, Spencer and I walked over.

Morgan pulled out his badge, "FBI. SSA Morgan, Ashley and Dr. Spencer Reid."

"FBI?" A guard asks.

"Yes sir." I answered.

"What happened?" Spencer questioned.

"A girl, was just found murdered. She died just a few minutes ago." He answers.

"May we take a look?" I ask.

"Sure, go ahead." He nods. We walked in and saw a young girl laying on the floor.  She didn't look like she was strangled, she only had a bloody shirt. The only thing that didn't fit was the restroom wasn't clean like the last two. A guard sat on the floor next to her.

I walked over and crouched down, placing my hand on his shoulder, "Excuse me. Can you tell me what happened?"

"S-She died. In front of me, i-in my a-arms." He stuttered.

"It's okay, it's not your fault." I say smoothly.

"I-I couldn't stop the bleeding." He sighed.

"The bleeding?" I questioned.

"Yeah. She had something carved into her stomach." He whispered.

"Hey, shh." I said quietly, trying to calm him down. "Morgan, when are the techs getting here. I need a pair of gloves."

"Soon. Why?" He asks.

"The victim, she had something carved into her abdomen." I answer with a sigh.

"They should be here any minute." Morgan sighs also.

"The crimescene, is different." Spencer comments.

"Yeah. There was definitely a struggle." I reply. "The girl was alive. She died just a couple of minutes ago."

"How do you know?" Spencer asks.

"She died in my arms." The guard on the floor answers.

"I'm sorry." Spencer apologizes.

The guard just sighs in response. I got into my wallet and grabbed my card, handing it to the guard. "Look, it's gonna be hard. Just call me if you need anything."

"Thanks." He whispers, taking the card and getting up. The techs walked in and Morgan handed me some gloves.

I put those on and lifted up the girl's shirt so I could examine her stomach. The wound was definitely jagged. Blood was splattered everywhere. I sighed, "Look around for a dull knife or piece of glass."

"Yes ma'am." The techs replied. They all got to work.

I took a closer look at the wound. It took me a minute. It took everything in me not to freak out. "Someone needs to check on the guys."