February Night

Chapter 48

It was the beginning of October and Lucy was sitting in her bookstore, lost in her thoughts. When she and Spencer had started their relationship, Lucy had secretly asked her brother when Spencer's birthday was. And it was on October 9th. She let out a sigh. What the hell should she give him for his birthday? What kind of gift would be the right one for a genius like him? She just didn't know, although she had thought about it since September but didn't come up with anything yet. And it started to frustrate her. What if his birthday arrived and she didn't have anything for him? That wouldn't be okay.

For a moment, Lucy thought about calling Penelope because she always had good ideas for gifts. Or JJ, because she was Spencer's best friend and would know what he'd like to get for his day. But then she hesitated. She was his girlfriend, goddamnit! She should know what would make him happy! Lucy buried her face in her hands and let out a groan. Well, she still got some days left to think of something amazing. And until then...she wouldn't show Spencer that she was desperately looking for a present for him.

~

"Alright, my sweethearts. I'm sorry to show you the following pictures so early this morning because they're terrible but...ugh. Look yourselves." Penelope took the remoter and seconds later disgusting and awful pictures were shown on the screen opposite of the round table, where the whole BAU team was seated. They had been called in before sunrise and after a cup of coffee, they all felt at least awake enough to properly function and hear what Penelope got for them.

The pictures that the technical analyst showed, really weren't for people with weak nerves. Dead bodies had been found in Albuquerque. And they looked horrible: Some had been shot in the chest or in the head and others looked as if they were just sleeping. But their skin had a strange tone and the team had already gotten the information that those people had been killed with gas.

Spencer swallowed and closed his file. He'd seen enough already. "Those murders don't have any connection", Luke murmured frowning.

Emily shook her head. "They do", she then said. Her team looked at her quite surprised.

"But...how?", JJ quietly asked.

"The police of Albuquerque have been found letters next or on the bodies", Emily explained.

"Letters? What kind of letters?", Rossi wanted to know, leaning forward and placing his elbows on the table.

"We're not quite sure yet", Emily said. "They're written in German and there's no one in Albuquerque who could translate them." She let out a sigh and then slowly got up from her chair. "We should fly there as soon as possible to support the local police."

The whole team nodded and got up as well. "But how are we supposed to solve this case if we have no clue what's written in those letters?", Luke asked frowning as they grabbed their bags and left the conference room.

Everyone knew that he had a point and the group glanced at each other. "Why don't we ask Lucy?", Spencer suddenly suggested. "She's studied linguistics and she speaks German. I'm sure she could translate those letters for us." For a moment, silence fell over the BAU members, but then Penelope agreed with Spencer.

"Genius boy is right. Lucy is the only person we know who speaks German. Wouldn't it be easier taking her to Albuquerque than looking for someone else there?"

Luke shuffled with his feet. He didn't look happy at all about that idea. And everyone knew why. Lucy was his sister. He wanted to protect her from this life, from seeing all this cruelty and the worst in human beings. He sighed.

"Luke, she's the only who can help us here, I guess", Spencer quietly said. Luke nodded and rummaged for his phone.

"I'll call her", he murmured.

~

"W-What? You're joking, right?" Lucy couldn't believe what her brother was telling her. She had stood up from the chair she had been sitting on and Roxy, who had been lying on the ground to her feet, looked up a bit confused. "You want me to join you on a case? Seriously?"

"Yeah, seriously", Luke said for the third time now. He sounded impatient and Lucy bit her lips. Of course, they had to leave as soon as possible to avoid more murders and catch this killer. "Lucy, you're the one who can help us here. We haven't got time to search for another person here or in Albuquerque who speaks German", Luke tried to convince his sister to say yes.

"Alright", she eventually sighed. Luke told her that a car was already on its way to pick her up at the book store. "And Roxy?", Lucy asked as she glanced down to the dog.

"You can leave her with the guys who come and pick you up. They'll bring her to Garcia", Luke explained.

After ending the call, Lucy looked around. A thousand thoughts were running through her head. She didn't even have changing clothes with her! And she wouldn't have the time to go and pack a bag right now. Well, she would have to get along with what she had. She just hoped that case would be solved quickly.

Forty-five minutes later, Lucy was sitting in the jet. She had taken the seat next to Spencer and he was now gently stroking the back of her hand with his thumb. It was obvious, that Lucy was nervous. Well, how couldn't she be? She was going to help solving a case for the FBI and although it was exciting, Lucy couldn't hide that she was a bit scared. She had no idea what was coming at her. And what if she couldn't help the team? What if she would disappoint them all? She took some deep breaths to calm herself down.

"It's all going to be alright", Spencer whispered into her ear and she just nodded.

"Lucy...we have pictures of some letters. Would you mind looking at them?" Emily had joined them; holding a file in her hands. Lucy slowly nodded and took it from her. She opened it while her heart was pounding fast and hard against her chest. Lucy hadn't had to use German since she was finished with studying. She just hoped she hadn't forgotten anything.

She took the first picture of a letter and read it. She could feel all eyes in the jet on her. The whole team was waiting for her to finally tell them what the letters were about. Quietly, Lucy put the picture down and took the next one. She couldn't believe what she was reading here. "Lu? What are those about?", Luke eventually asked.

"Those...those seem to be letters from...from prisoners in concentration camps", she quietly said as she put down the picture.

"You mean...from World War II?", Tara's voice was full of surprise. Lucy slowly nodded and looked at the team's surprised faces.