The Boss' Niece (Spencer Reid)

82. So close, yet so far

On her way back to the conference room, Agent Anderson stopped Emily, getting her attention.

"Ma'am, all emergency vehicles have been confirmed except for one ambulance that wasn't registered with the city or county." He explained, Emily exhaled, knowing exactly what this meant.

"Private company so we can't track the GPS." She groaned, hating Meadows even more than she already did.

‭"That's right." He nodded, seeing the anger on her face.

"Thanks, Anderson. Keep me posted." She tried to smile, but failed, continuing to walk to the conference room.

"I still can't believe that Meadows was able to cover up all these kills. Over a decade." Matt exhaled, leaning back in his chair.

"There doesn't seem to be an obvious pattern. They're all over the continental U.S." JJ scoffed.

"Victimology's protector type." Derek spoke.

"That's a good start, but we need more. Why take hyoid bones?" Emily asked, sitting down.

"Well, they're unique to humans, they float in the neck, and they aren't connected to any other bone." Spencer explained, trying to focus.

"Well, it anchors the tongue. Without it, the victims have no voice." Tara continued.

"Run with that. They removed them while their victims were still alive, which isn't just sadistic, it means they want them speechless." Emily tilted her head in curiosity.

"What if removing the hyoid isn't just a ritual, but an individual's signature? So it isn't a cult of killers, it's just Merva." JJ suggested, peaking Emily's interested.

"All the victims were sacrificed by The Messiah. The followers are simply hunters." Rossi typed away at his laptop.

"That would eliminate some of his risk. He gave the hunters hyoids as trophies, maybe as some kind of reward for their hard work. That's why he gave Theo's parents 7 of them." Derek continued.

"All right, look, The Believers, they're just like Jonestown, Manson, Heaven's Gate, even Rajneeshpuram in Oregon. There's always a charismatic leader and a strong right hand who appears as a devoted disciple. In this case, Meadows." Tara explained, standing up to look closer at the board.

"Merva has killed 299 innocents for a reason. We just don't know why." JJ shook her head, annoyed that she couldn't figure out why.

"But now that he's taken Cassidy and Garcia, The Believers have declared war on the BAU. So this has got to be working toward their end game, one that could make either Cassidy or Garcia their 300th victim, perhaps their last." Rossi exhaled, worried.

"Garcia wasn't a part of this. She was just racing to the elevator." Matt reminded him.

"So it's Cassidy. It's been her all along. She's a protector. It fits the victimology. Cassidy has to know something we don't." Spencer was one moment away from crying. His wife, the mother of his unborn son, was the intended target of this cult that Meadows was devoted to.

"Ben's Believers. Cassidy could have told us anything, but she chose that." Derek exhaled, confused by Cassidy's choice.

———
(The Warehouse)

"What is wrong with you?" Penelope glared at Meadows with distain.

"Didn't think you'd be so judgy." Meadows rolled her eyes, making sure that Penelope kept typing.

"It's Good vs. Evil, dummy. It's pretty simple. Doing the wrong thing for the right reasons, to make sure you don't hurt Cassidy or anybody else." Penelope tried not to cry anymore than she had, although, she wasn't sure if she had anymore tears to shed.