Decisions (4th Book in the Boss's Niece Series)

A Case Close To Spencer and Mel

*Mel's POV*

Days passed and we didn't hear anything from the mystery letter sender. It was now two weeks since I told the team about the offer and Derek was still mad at me. He was talking to Spencer again, but he barley acknowledged that I was there.

I was in the kitchen, cleaning up from dinner while Spencer played with Haley. The TV was on some news show when they made the announcement that shocked both Spencer and I.

"In other news, actress Lila Archer has been found dead just a block away from the hotel she was staying in an ally way in New York city."

I nearly dropped the plate I was holding and turned to look at the TV. They were showing a picture of the crime scene and ambulance taking Lila's body away.

"Oh, my God." I said, stepping forward.

"Lila?" Spencer said. "Sh-she's dead?"

I looked down at him. I knew his past with Lila. Spencer may have been married to me, but learning that his first love was dead must've crushed him inside.

"Haley, can you go up to your room?" I asked.

"Why mommy?" she asked.

"Daddy and I need to talk about adult stuff."

Haley looked over at Spencer, who was now sat up and watching the news closely.

"Are you okay daddy?" she asked.

"What? Yeah. Daddy's fine. Just-just do what mommy said, okay?"

Haley nodded. She collected her blocks and raced up the steps and to her room. I watched as she closed the door, not completely, but enough that I knew she wasn't listening.

"There's been a string of murders." Spencer stated. "There has been at least 4 now, including Lila. How could they not take notice before?"

"They probably didn't think it was a serial killer until now." I said. "Please don't be upset, Reiders. I hate seeing you upset."

"We need to get to the office." he said. "We-we need to look into this before anyone else is killed."

"We haven't been invited."

"They're gonna have to invite us now. The media's gonna have a field day with this and the police station is not going to want that. Especially not after that killer back when you were pregnant with Haley."

"Okay. Okay, I'll call Uncle Aaron and get the team there. You call the New York station and see if you can get any more information or anything on it and make up a briefing."

•

After calling Uncle Aaron and getting invited to New York, we gathered in the Conference Room. Spencer stood in front of the screen with the remote in hand. Once everyone was there, he began to speak.

"In the course of four weeks, there have been 4 murders. The first was an actor named Kyle Lampton. Next was a singer of a popular band named Terry Carmichael. The third was a local entertainer named June Carter, named after the famous June Carter who married Johnny Cash. And, if you were watching the news tonight, you'd have noticed that the latest death is Lila Archer."

"So, it's a killing of celebrities." Sara said.

"That's what I thought as well, but you see, June here was only known in New York, which means our UnSub is killing people who are popular or famous in New York, whether they be big in the rest of the world or just there." Spencer explained. "I found another connection, too. Each victim has the initials of the next victim somewhere on their body."

He clicked a button and a picture of a man, I assumed it was Kyle Lampton, came up onto the screen.

"Kyle had the initials TC on his arm."

"Terry Carmichael." I said.

"Correct. Terry had JC on his leg. June had LA on her neck and Lila has the initials SH on her stomach. I'm still trying to narrow down who SH could possibly be."

"I can do some digging." Penelope said.

"Good. Look for famous people with the initials SH who are in New York right now." Uncle Aaron said. "As for the rest of us, wheels up in 30."

And we were dismissed. I stood up and looked at Spencer. He was collecting the case files.

"We're gonna catch this sicko." I said.

"I know we are." he said. "I refuse to leave New York till we do."

•

We sat on the plane. Derek was sitting as far away from me as he could. It wasn't fair that he was mad. It's not like I had asked for the offer.

To make matters worst, now Spencer was upset, too, and he was determined to put whoever did this to Lila behind bars.

"Henriette sent me a text." I said. (Henriette was Haley's sitter). "She said Haley's a bit confused about what's going on, but she knows mommy and daddy need to go away again."

Spencer didn't reply.

"She got her brains from you." JJ commented.

"Brains aren't a genetic thing." Spencer mumbled, not looking up from his book.

"And the genius speaks." I said. JJ and I laughed. Spencer let out a nose chuckle which was accompanied by a half smile. "Whatcha reading?"

"The Hobbit." he replied.

"Again? This must be the millionth time." I laughed.

"I like this story. It's a good book. It's not a love story or an over the top story. Until I can get new books, I will be reading this series."

I smiled and rested my head against his shoulder. There was a few minutes of silence before Penelope video called. We all became alert.

"Hey. What you got for us, Garcia?" asked Derek, which surprised just about everyone.

"Oh." Penelope said. "Well, I've been looking into the victims. Kyle was in town for an acting gig. The last time he was saw was on set. He said he was feeling sick and he went back to the hotel. Terry was last seen a day before a gig. He didn't show up to a concert and when one of his band members went looking for him, they found him dead. June was in the middle of a play when she began to get sick and was rushed to the hospital immediately. Lila was in town visiting family. She got food poisoning and died on her way back to the hotel."

"So, they were all sick before dying." JJ said. "Is our UnSub poisoning them?"

"That'd be logical." Spencer said. "Poison is a good weapon. It can never be traced back to you."

"What about that SH? Have you found out who that is?" Alex asked.

"This is a sort of good news, bad news situation." Penelope replied. "The good news is that there is only one famous SH in New York right now."

"What's the bad news?" Uncle Aaron asked.

"Well...uh...I don't know how to put this. That SH is Sean Hotchner."

Uncle Aaron and I looked at each other in shock and in worry.

"Dad." I said. "How-how is he famous? Last I heard, he was a bartender at a bar in New York. How is that considered famous?"

"Your dad bought that bar not too long after Haley was born. He fixed it up, made it one of the most popular bars in town, which makes him-"

"The most famous bar owner in town." Uncle Aaron finished. "Mel, when we land, I want you to go straight to your father's house and let him know what's going on. Morgan and Night, you go to the crime scenes, see if there's any connection. Blake and Reid, you go to the morgue and get the autopsies. JJ and I will go to the station and talk to the police."

"Lila was killed today." I said. "Which means we have seven days before he goes after dad."