ETHEREAL ▷ Spencer Reid

NINE

NINE • WHEN A GOOD MAN GOES TO WAR

"LET ME LEAVE BEFORE THE ONES I LOVE, FOR KILLING THEM WOULD KILL ME ANYWAYS."

•

"Yes, I understand what you're saying, but why do you think it's hidden in that specific book?" Hotch asked.

The BAU team stood in the main building. They all had their focus trained on Natalia, and they were eager to hear an explanation.

"It's not inside of his book, but it's hidden somewhere in the story. Why do you think that he wrote the word 'returns' in bold? He wanted me to understand this was the book I needed to look at." She looked around to see clueless faces. "Come on! You're supposed to be professionals, this is textbook!"

Silence.

"Oh my god." She sighed and snatched the notecard off of the table in front of her. It was in an evidence bag, so instead of taking it out, she showed them its writing through the clear plastic. "Do you see this? It's the word 'returns'. It's a very important word right now."

A wave of subtle nods followed.

"Now, remember when I told Agent Prentiss that Luca called me his 'Sherlock Holmes'? That's clue number 1. There are many novels and short stories by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle that belong to the series, but only one with the word 'return' in it." She dropped the note back on the table and picked up the book next to it.

"The Return of Sherlock Holmes." She paused and searched for anymore facial expressions coming from her new co-workers. "That's why it was in bold."

To her relief, everyone finally began to understand. "But what about the numbers?" JJ asked, gesturing to the sequence of numbers on the note.

"I might have an answer to that." Spencer said. He grabbed the book and asked Natalia to find a notepad and pen. "One of the most common ways to use a book for decoding is by placing certain numbers in a certain order - page number, line number, letter number. "

Natalia quickly handed him a newly found pen and paper.

"What's this guy playing at?" Rossi furrowed his brows.

"He likes to play games. He uses metaphors, hints, codes, anything to help keep him entertained. He's a psychopath."

The team looked down to see Reid in concentration. "Tali," he said, "I'm going to read aloud the numbers on the note." He looked over to her and handed her his book. "Find the right letter using the sequence, then read it out to me."

"The sequence?"

"Remember - page number, line number, letter number." He took his pen and jotted down a quick note before beginning. "25, 1, 1."

Natalia flipped through a few pages before opening to the right page. Her eyes easily went to the first letter on the first line. "R."

"30, 1, 8."

There was a momentary pause as she initiated a small search. "O."

"73, 3, 5."

"M."

"92, 3, 1"

"A."

"109, 5, 6."

"E."

"143, 1-"

"Wait, no." She corrected herself right as the new grouping of numbers left Reid's mouth. "N. It's N."

"143, 1, 1."

"S."

Natalia gently set down the book and leaned onto the table. She looked over Spencer's shoulder and read aloud what it said for everyone in the room to hear. "It says... romans?" Her voice was laced with confusion. Her comment came out more like she was asking for confirmation, rather than actually stating what she saw.

"We never used the 12.10. That needs to have some sort of meaning, or else he wouldn't have put it in the note." Morgan said. He looked over Reid's other shoulder. "All we have is the word romans, and 12.10." 

"Romans 12:10. It's a bible verse." Natalia silently stared into nothing. The team around her watched her eyes frantically move back and forth, as if she was solving an equation. The answer hit her harder than a truck. "Romans 12:10. Be devoted to one another in brotherly love; give preference to one another in honor."

"How'd you -"

"I know a random assortment of bible verses." Her face began to contort into one of a mental pain.

"Tali?" Reid stepped in front of her and bent his knees slightly to look her straight in the eyes. "What is it?"

"Brotherly love." There was a long moment of silence before each member began to slowly figure it out. "He has Lincoln. He has my brother."