Family isn't Always Blood (A Criminal Minds fanfic)

Chapter 16: Case Continued

Garcia's POV:
"What is it with you people?!" I ask, picking up Reid's unfinished coffee cup and dropping it in the bin, "Garcia!" "These computers are highly sensitive" "Yeah well you could've told me that, I would've left the room to finish it!" He says, "Oh Reid, you'll just have to get another one later" I smile at him, he returns it with a frown. "So the team should be landing soon, it takes about 2 hours to get to Oklahoma from here on a plane" "2 hours, 36 minutes" he corrects me. "Garcia, have you found any connection between the victims yet, other than the tattoos?" Reid asks, "No, sorry" I reply, "Maybe a place they all went on different occasions, where the unsub could've seen their tattoos" "No, I've tried gyms, swimming pools, even personal trainers, so far nothing. The unsub must've seen Brianna at the park or something, just by chance" "Hmm" he says, frowning. Reid gets up and starts walking out of the room, "Where are you going?" I ask, "To get more coffee, because you dropped my last one in the bin!" he says, "It was too close to the computer" I laugh as he walks out, "I was still drinking it!" He calls back. I turn to my computer and start checking all the victims' credit cards, looking for possible overlaps between the three. The phone rings and I check the number: unknown. "FBI technical analyst Penelope Garcia" I say as I answer the phone, "Hello ma'am, I'm sheriff Stevens from McAlester PD, are you the person I talked to about the recent murders?" The man on the other end asks, "Yes sir, the team is on their way right now" "Okay thank you, but um, there's been another victim" he says, "Her name is Alison Turner, she was 27 and she has a bird tattoo with a cross cut through it" "Oh, what was the cause of death?" I ask, "Strangulation" "Okay, I'll inform the team right away" I say and hang up. Reid walks back in, "Who was that?" He asks, "McAlester PD, there's been another victim" I tell him.

Prentiss' POV:
"Alison Turner was found by two joggers this morning out on side of the bike track, she had been strangled and and had a cross cut through a bird tattoo on the back of her neck" one of the deputies explains, "Different MO again" Hotch says, "The body's over here" the deputy says, leading us over to the lifeless body of the most recent victim. I start to feel a little bit queasy, so I just close my eyes and take deep breaths, "You alright?" Hotch asks, I nod, "Excuse me" I say and walk off, leaving the crime scene and finding somewhere secluded incase I throw up. I stand around for a bit and the feeling goes away, so I head back over. "Look, I know it's none of my business, but if you deal with killers like this all the time, shouldn't you be able to handle being around a dead body?" The deputy asks, "It's not that" I say, "I'm sorry, it's none of my business" she says, "No it's fine, it's just mourning sickness" "Oh, congratulations!" She says, "Thanks" I say and focus back on the crime scene, "Hey Hotch, look at this" I say, leaning down to get a better look, "He pulled out her hair, why would he do that?" I ask, "Maybe she was jogging, he sees her, notices the tattoo on her neck, comes up behind her, grabs her ponytail and strangles her" Aaron says, "So these are just random, he just waits until he finds girls with bird tattoos and goes in for the kill" "Maybe" he says. The phone rings so he answers then puts it on speaker, "Hey Reid, it's just me and Prentiss" he says, "Hey guys, so I was thinking; it would take ages to just sit around waiting for a girl to walk past with a bird tattoo" Reid says, "What are you saying Reid?" I ask, "I'm saying; who would know which people have bird tattoos best?" "Oh" I say, "A tattoo artist" "Exactly" Reid says, "Have you found a common tattoo parlour between the four?" Hotch asks, "No sorry, I'll tell Garcia to keep digging" he says and hangs up. The coroners arrive to take the body, they lift it up into the bag and take her away. I look over and notice something on the ground, "Hotch" I say, pointing at it, he bends down and picks it up with his glove, "It's three cards; a queen of hearts, a king of hearts and an ace of hearts" he says, looking down at me as he finishes, "What could that mean?" I ask, running over everything that the unsub has done in my head, "I think we're ready to give the profile" he says.