❝ Some things scratch at the surface while others strike at your soul. ❞
𝐂𝐀𝐑𝐎𝐋𝐈𝐍𝐄 𝐋𝐔𝐂𝐀𝐒 𝐇𝐀𝐒 𝐃𝐄𝐃𝐈𝐂𝐀𝐓𝐄𝐃 her whole life to catching the monsters in this world in hopes of fixing something that is broken inside of her.
Tha...
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" The heart is an artist that paints over what profoundly disturbs it, leaving on the canvas a less dark, less sharp version of the truth. "
— Dean Koontz
➴ ➴ ➴ ➴ ➴ ➴
15.2 ; CAROLINE.
IN AN HOUR, SPENCER Reid learned more about his best friend than he had in a whole year. He discovered in high school she had been a cheerleader, the president of the student body council, and a very successful member of the debate team. These were the things he wanted to know about her. These were the things he chose to focus on.
However, the things he had to learn about her, the things that the whole team had to learn, became trapped inside his head. No matter how hard he tried to block out every horrific detail, it still lingered. The more he read, the more he found himself fighting off nausea.
And holed up in Hotch's office was the woman in the center of the horrifying two weeks the Hale family had endured. She had been there for an hour now. Spencer had been tempted to check on her more than once, but he highly doubted she'd want to talk to him right now.
The sound of Elle sighing pulled him out of thoughts. He glanced up from the file in front of him, noticing how the woman rubbed her temples in small, tight circles.
"I don't get it," she commented, tapping a finger against her file. "How did this guy manage to control a family of six?"
Across from her, Morgan shrugged. "Most likely told the kids if you cry, mommy and daddy die. Told the parents if you fight back, the kids die."
"Yeah, but Christopher Hale was a seasoned Navy Admiral and his son was an athletic Navy prospect," she said. "It would be hard to control them, don't you think?"
"Mr. Hale was the first to die," JJ observed. "Maybe the unsub wanted to eliminate the biggest threat?"
"The unsub waited three hours after breaking into the house," Spencer said, shaking his head. "By that time, the family had been separated and locked into different rooms."
"But the way he was killed also bothers out at me." Elle laid a picture of Caroline's father on the table, his throat slashed. "The mother and the boy had been shot. But Mr. Hale has his throat cut. According to the M.E. report, the unsub didn't cut all the way through. His death was slow and painful."
The young doctor stared down at the crime scene photo. Mr. Hale's empty green eyes stared back at him.
"Hatred for the father," Gideon noted as he adjusted his glasses. "He wanted him to suffer."
