Psychopathy

Chapter 40- The Face Of The Devil

Isabel felt her legs, mourning the muscle she had lost. She wondered if, when the lake decided to help her, she'd even be able to do anything. She was barely able to walk. But perhaps the lake would be able to do something to give her strength. It had been silent since she'd revealed why the devil had dragged her down to hell. Thinking. Planning. Strategizing. It would let her know when it was ready to strike. For now, all she could do was wait and survive.

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Reid rushed around the round table room, setting it up for what he and Akilah were preparing to present to the rest of the team. Now that they had a first name and an event to tie it to, maybe they could find out the Unsub's full identity. Maybe they could identify the Partner, and maybe they could even figure out where they had taken Ciara. Maybe this would be where it all ended. He finally settled at the whiteboard, writing out a very rough timeline of Ciara's experiences with the Unsub. Maybe the rest of the team could help them fill in the blanks.

"Alright, Reid, I got your message. What's happening?" Garcia asked as she entered the room, JJ and Prentiss only moments behind her.

"We finally have a real lead. But we need help to take it further," Akilah answered, and Garcia nodded, already sitting down and firing up her laptop, ready to help. The other members of the BAU drifted in as Reid continued working. He had just finished his timeline when Rossi, the last member arrived, strode into the room, taking a seat between Hotch and Morgan.

"Alright, what is this about?" Hotch asked as soon as everyone was sat down.

"Back in September, I found a notebook of Ciara's entitled 'Bury Me In Black', and I knew it was important because Ciara had scrawled out the same message during a livestream. Now, when we first found it, it didn't look like anything important. It was just the lyrics of her favorite songs. But..." Akilah drifted off, letting Reid take over.

"When we showed it to Teresa, she managed to decipher a hidden code. It said that there was a safe that had something we needed and that the code to the safe was in there. Now, we found the safe when we searched her room when she first disappeared. It took me a longer time than I'd like to admit, but I finally figured out the combination. And when I opened the safe, we found this," he explained, and Akilah practically threw the red notebook on the table. The hatred and disgust in her eyes was indistinguishable.

"The red notebook," Hotch said, and Garcia reached for the notebook, curious about what was inside. Akilah cleared her throat, and when Garcia looked up at her, she shook her head. Garcia wouldn't want to read it. They all knew that. Instead, Garcia passed it over to JJ, who opened it and began to read.

"JJ, maybe you shouldn't," Akilah said, but JJ kept reading as everyone turned to face them, the question on their faces. Reid opened his mouth to explain, but before he could, JJ gasped loudly and shut the notebook. She put her mouth to her hand and looked like she was on the verge of tears.

"That man... he... he..." JJ drifted off, and everyone looked at her. Reid took a deep breath.

"That notebook is where Ciara wrote down the very first time the Unsub raped her," Reid told them, and everyone looked up at him.

"You mean that time, during the first livestream, that wasn't the first time?" Garcia whispered, and Reid nodded while JJ wiped her eyes.

"I can't even finish it," she said, and Prentiss went for the notebook. JJ tried to stop her, but Prentiss insisted. While she read, Reid continued.

"He tricked her into thinking he was a mistreated Air Force veteran who had no place to go. He charmed his way into the apartment in Omaha. He made her believe that he was just going to stay for a few days and then he'd leave. But that's not what happened," Reid started.