timeless, spencer reid [ 1 ]

057. sense memory

"Where's Prentiss?" Derek asks as he walks into the conference room.

"I don't know. Her car wasn't here when I rode in this morning." Spencer says.

"I'm gonna give her a call, get her ETA." Penelope says, getting up and going to leave, but stops when Emily walks in.

"Hey." Emily greets.

"Somebody have a long night?" Derek asks.

"Somebody want to mind their own business?" Emily retorts.

"Garcia." Hotch says.

"Oh. Spin the wheel. And it is sunny Los Angeles, people." Penelope says.

"Two times in one year, huh?" Derek asks.

"Remind me again why it's called the City of Angels." Rossi says.

"It was originally called the Town of our Lady the Queen of the Angels." Spencer says and everybody looks at him. "That was a rhetorical question, wasn't it?" He instinctively looks at Bedelia who nods.

"This is a weird one." Penelope says.

"As opposed to?" Derek asks.

"Ah, withhold your judgment, Mon Ami." Penelope says. "Okay, 3 women, all abducted from different parts of the city and murdered within the last couple of weeks. Shelly Onto, 23 year old bank teller, 15 days ago. Vickie Hagerg, 39 year old art teacher, 6 days ago. And Linda Dean, a 28 year old hostess at a bar, 2 days ago. All from different parts of the city. All different socioeconomic statuses."

"All three were held approximately 24 hours before being dumped in a public space." Hotch says.

"He's not hiding what he's doing." Rossi says.

"And here's one weird part." Penelope clicks a button, showing more images.

"They all look like floaters." Emily says.

"Mm-hmm. All 3 women were drowned." Penelope says.

"Wait, their bodies weren't found anywhere near water?" Spencer asks.

"No, they weren't." Penelope shakes her head.

"They were drowned somewhere else and transported to the dumpsite." Hotch says.

"Garcia, you're right, this is weird." Derek says.

"Oh, but there's more." Penelope says.

"They weren't drowned in water." Hotch states.

"Methanol?" Spencer asks.

"Each woman had it in her lungs and was alive before she went into it. No water, just methanol." Hotch says.

"Drowning's a tough way to kill someone." Rossi says.

"Slow. The unsub wants his victims to suffer, and he's got the space and privacy in which to do it." Hotch says.

"And if you have yet to hit your daily allotment of skeeve before breakfast, each woman had an identical removal of flesh taken from the bottom of her right foot." Penelope says.

"Methanol and skin. What the hell's he doing with them?" Rossi questions.

+++

"Methanol is compositionally speaking the simplest of the alcohols. It's actually ubiquitous in the environment." Spencer informs, sitting on the couch. "There are small traces of its vapor in the atmosphere, but atmospheric methanol is easily oxidized by sunlight."

Bedelia stands in the kitchen area, snacking on some chips and waiting for the water in the tea kettle to get hot.

"Is it toxic?" Emily asks.