𝐏𝐀𝐈𝐍𝐊𝐈𝐋𝐋𝐄𝐑 [spencer reid]

29. saving

"𝐘𝐎𝐔'𝐑𝐄 𝐅𝐔𝐂𝐊𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐖𝐈𝐓𝐇 𝐌𝐄," 𝐉𝐀𝐒𝐌𝐈𝐍𝐄 𝐀𝐋𝐌𝐎𝐒𝐓 𝐏𝐀𝐒𝐒𝐄𝐃 𝐎𝐔𝐓 when she opened the door to an unexpected visit from Derek Morgan and Spencer Reid. Aside from her embarrassment to be standing in front of tall, dark, and handsome dressed as she was, Jasmine's flirtatious nature quickly disappeared after what he had to say.

          "Unfortunately not," Derek solemnly regretted, looking over her shoulder. "Can we come in and talk to you and Ingrid?"

          Jasmine anxiously shifted aside, offering the agents the doorway. They thanked her, heading towards the couch in the living room. "Ingrid!" Jasmine yelled with no direction, taking a seat. "She just got out of the shower."

         Ingrid emerged from her bedroom, hair tied in a towel turban. Her eyes widened when she noticed the profilers standing before Jasmine. "Oh, hi," she greeted softly, focus darting between them and her roommate. "What's going on?"

         Derek pointed to the spot beside Jasmine, to which Ingrid scurried to occupy. "We were just telling Jasmine that Griff is missing. We wanted to ask you guys a couple of questions that could help with the investigation."

         "Investigation?!" Ingrid squeaked, her first worried expression being sent to Spencer, who was appearing clearly less professional than a typical FBI agent. He looked down at his feet, shyly ignoring Ingrid's unspoken concern.

         "We need to know everything about last night," Derek explained. "Did either of you see Griff yesterday after she left work?"

         Both girls rapidly shook their heads, resulting in a frustrated huff from Derek. "Okay, how about that morning? Did she happen to mention doing anything last night?"

Jasmine shrugged. "We all text in a group chat throughout the day, but yesterday was a dry spell. She had a lot of work to do, I know that. I don't think she had time to make plans for the night."

"Do you have anyone in mind that may want to hurt her?" Spencer blurted out, shutting his mouth abruptly after to keep his emotions in check. "I mean, has anyone exhibited any abnormal behavior towards her? Someone raise any red flags to you as her best friends?"

"Not particularly," Ingrid crossed her arms. "She doesn't hang out with anyone besides us, JJ, and you," she gestured towards Spencer.

"Do Griff's parents know that she's missing yet?" Jasmine inquired, crossing her legs. "They've got to be worried sick."

Derek nodded reassuringly. "Hotch is gonna let them know and see if they'll come in to answer a few questions. We're going to do all that we can to find her."

Jasmine hopped off the couch. "Can I get you guys something to drink? I was about to make some tea."

"Tea sounds nice," Derek accepted, glancing at his partner. "Reid?"

"No, I'm fine," Spencer rejected the offer, Jasmine eagerly leading Derek to the kitchen. Once they left, Spencer took a seat in a nearby chair, resting his head in his hands. Ingrid noticed his angst, and she was more than willing to comfort him.

She slid closer to him on the couch, propping her elbow on its arm. "Do you believe it?" Ingrid asked, curiosity on her porcelain face.

Spencer raised his head, befuddled eyes meeting hers. "Believe what?"

"That you're going to find her."

The boy scoffed, straightening up. "Of course I do."

Ingrid chuckled. "Well, it didn't look like it just then," she stated matter-of-factly, Spencer soon slouching again with embarrassment. "I know you're worried, but don't get defeated just yet."

"We're going off of nothing. Not even a hunch," Spencer authentically declassified, knowing his early surrender could cost his girlfriend her life. He just felt like he failed. She's been by his side ever since they started dating, saving him from the horrors of his job. Now, it was his turn to do the saving, and he didn't even have one foot in the ring.

"Griff is a fighter, that's for sure," Ingrid gave a small smile. "She'll stick it out for you."

Spencer reciprocated the mini grin. He never really got to know Ingrid or Jasmine well, but that would be next on his list.

Right after saving Francesca.

.・。.・

JJ was a basket case. She had torn through every crevice of Francesca's apartment and nothing seemed out of the ordinary. The blonde had to clear her mind, plopping down on Francesca's bed to do so. She stared up at the blank ceiling, shutting her eyes and erasing her clouded vision.

A weapon of opportunity, she thought to herself. Think basic.

A knife? No, everything was accounted for in the kitchen.

A vase? Griff hates flowers.

Some sort of rod? Why would she have a rod, JJ....A stick? A bat?

A bat.

JJ jolted up, practically throwing herself off of the bed. She tore open Francesca's bedroom closet, swimming through a sea of hanging clothes to find the item. When one of her hands touched the glass case, she wrapped both around it and yanked it into plain sight. As theorized, there it was – empty.

The delicate, rectangular box held a baseball bat, but it wasn't any ordinary one. It came from the bat boy of the Washington Nationals. The game-used memorabilia was a gift from Francesca's most recent ex on their six-month anniversary. He was an avid Nationals fan, and he wanted Francesca to have a piece of something he loved so much. The girl mentioned to JJ that she never took the bat out of its case, housing it in the back of her closet until its value increased. Francesca projected selling the bat when she turned forty, and that clearly was not happening anytime soon.

JJ scrambled for her phone, dialing her technical analyst. "The oracle for all things known and unknown, at your service," Penelope echoed on the line.

"Garcia, I need everything you've got on a Patrick Taylor."

.・。.・

𝐌𝐀𝐂𝐊 𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐓𝐒!
→ quick update but finals week
is over, so i can focus more
on writing!
thank you for all your engagement
with this book so far!
keep the comments coming :)
check out my reid imagines
if you're interested!