Who Am I? - Criminal Minds

Chapter Four

Reid looks up at Daley and tries to show as much strength as he can, but it isn't easy; he barely has enough strength to stay awake, much less hold his head up.

"Fun?"

"Exactly. Shall we begin?"

~~~~~ . : . ~~~~~

"I wanna kill this guy myself!" Morgan angrily slams the door as he storms off, leaving only Hotch, Rossi, JJ, and Emily.

Nobody follows him; the team knows he needs to cool off alone.

Everybody is exhausted, but knows even if they try to sleep, they won't be successful. They are already awake in a nightmare.

The team stares after him until Hotch shifts their focus back to him. "There's definitely something we missed in the profile."

"Daley's first victim was his mother. This was because she was abusive towards him after her second son died." Emily begins to state what they already know.

"The trigger that led to her murder was his girlfriend leaving, who he became dependent upon. When she left, he snapped," JJ gives the simplified explanation.

"And with this mom gone, he took his anger out on anyone available. The women were surrogates for his mom, and the men were surrogates for his dad, who left them when he was seven," Rossi says.

"Wait, go back." Hotch thinks aloud. "His brother died of suffocation, right?"

"His mother stated he suffocated from rolling onto his stomach in his sleep," JJ reminded him.

"The police reports mentioned a baby carrier, but nothing of a crib. Only two small beds; one for John and one for his mother, and Miss Daley said all members of the family slept alone."

The room goes silent as realization sinks in.

"So Debra Daley wasn't his first kill," Rossi voices their thoughts.

~~~~~ . : . ~~~~~

"Before we start playing games, I thought we'd talk a little. Sound good?" Daley sits across from Reid in his own chair, but unlike Reid, he isn't cuffed and tied.

Reid tries to focus as best he can, but his vision is blurring at random times and he's still drowsy. His head still hurts and all he wants to do is sleep in his own bed. He nods his head, but it takes a great amount of effort. I'm useless. I can barely move my head. Pathetic.

"So...Doctor Spencer Reid," he emphasizes 'doctor', mocking the word. "How are you?"

Reid hangs his head and juts out his bottom jaw, but continues to look at Daley, a glare obviously in his eyes.

"Oh, right," he laughs. "Now I bet you're wondering how I know your name. Now that's an easy question. See, there's this little thing called the internet, and I've done my fair amount of research...enough to know about dear old Mom." He smiles, but there is no trace of friendliness anywhere on his face, only mockery.

Reid immediately jerks his head up and opens his eyes, fighting the drowsiness. "Don't you dare touch her!"

"Oh, I think I've struck a nerve. You're quite fiesty, Doctor Reid." He laughs again before continuing. "Relax, I won't go near her. She's all the way in Nevada, that would be way too much effort for such a meaningless kill." Reid grits his teeth. "Besides, she's done nothing to me."

"I wouldn't put it past you," Reid snarls.

Daley gapes his mouth and exaggerates his offense as he mocks it. "I'm not a monster." He snickers after saying that.

"Then what have I done to you?" The drowsiness is going away slightly, but is still present.

"Hmm, let me think....nothing," he says after tapping his chin with his index finger and looking up simultaneously.

"Then why did you take me?"

"'Because, Spencer," he leans in. "You were easy prey. Always have been."

Reid opens his mouth as if he were going to protest, but then closes it.

"Uh huh. You know it, too. Let's take a stroll down memory lane." He leans back and puts his hands on the back of his neck, interlacing his fingers.

Reid looks down at the floor. He tries his best to shove the memories of the rough times in his childhood, and even adulthood, in the back of his mind.

"Hmm, where to start...well, there's your dad leaving you and your mom alone, leaving you to deal with her problems alone a-"

"It's not her fault! She tried. She tried...." The young man fights back tears at the memories of his mother's episodes.

"Then you had to put up with that for another eight years," he continues as if Reid had never interrupted.

Meanwhile, the genius just keeps mumbling, "She tried....she tried....she tried...."

Daley continues the psychological torture all through his childhood and teenage years, including the instance in high school where the football team had stripped him naked and tied him to the goal post while the entire school stared at him.

"Oh, and remember when that psycho on drugs took you for a few days? What was that guy's name? Toby Hinkle? Ah, wait, I got it! Tobias Hankel!" He straightens up and observes Reid's reaction to the name.

Reid stiffens and doesn't dare look up. "I don't know what you're talking about," is all he says.

"Oh, come on, Spencer! Don't give me that! I read up on you, remember? I know about your little eidetic memory."

Reid is quiet which makes Daley doubt he'll answer. "I'm too tired to talk right now, I need to sleep," is the only response Reid gives.

Daley studies him for a moment. "Alright, fine. We'll talk later." He gets up and moves the chair into a corner far away from Reid. Before slipping out the door, he adds, "Sweet dreams, Spencer."