Vulnerable | Spencer Reid

Chapter 79 - Virgina Woolf

The next week was easygoing. Andy barely had any work to do, courtesy of her friends. All she had to do was entertain the bubbly Penelope Garcia as her day continued.

On that particular morning, Garcia had gotten everyone coffee and donuts. They were gathered around talking when she got a text.

"Oh, sorry crimefighters. We've got a case."

They all walked to the conference room. Andy felt giddy with nerves for some reason. Maybe it was because it was her first case since she came back. Or maybe it was because Reid had been acting incredibly weird that morning.

She shook it off and accepted the file Garcia handed them.

"Good morning, except it's not such a good morning for these poor folks. Up in the great Pine Tree State, four poor hikers were found dead in the Eagle Lake Old-Growth Forest."

"That's the largest forest in Maine," Andy commented.

"Yeah, it's about 100 acres of forest land alone. It would be pretty hard to murder someone there," Reid added.

His partner turned to him, "It could also be a forensic countermeasure. The forest is named Old-Growth for its expanse and its ability to stay "timeless." Maybe the unsub uses it to his advantage because of the scarcity of population and lodging within it."

"Not to mention the tall trees that block overhead view."

"You guys can talk location details on the plane," Hotch interrupted with a small smile, "Let's get to know our victims."

"Right," Garcia clicked her remote, "We've got Carol Klemons, Patrick Nitgar, Frankie Het, and Tom Jackson. Different ages ranging from 25 to 34 years old."

"Who found them?" Andy asked.

"Another hiker. Apparently that part of the forest is pretty local. They were all found next to each other but each of them had different rates of decomp."

"Killed at different times but buried in the same place. That's risky," JJ said.

"Not as risky as putting it in a high traffic area," Rossi added, "The unsub had however many acres-"

"One hundred," Reid interrupted.

Rossi motioned to the kid, "He had at least a hundred acres to hide the bodies. Why bury them there?"

"Maybe he wanted them to be found. Could contribute to his ego," Hotch answered. He closed the file and stood up, "Wheels up in thirty."

They all dispersed but he caught Andy, "Are you sure you're up for this?"

She nodded firmly, "More than ever."

He sighed and led them both out, letting her grab her go bag. Reid walked with her, asking her the same question as they made it to the locker room.

"Spence, I'm fine."

He followed her back out to the elevator where the rest of team piled in. They made it to the SUV's and drove to the jet.

When they made it there, the plane felt somewhat foreign to Andy. She hadn't been there in so long and it was killing her that everything felt new.

Reid guided her to a seat and sat across from her. He laid out a map of the forest, which Garcia had printed out for him, and pulled out his markers.

"I want you two to scour every inch of the forest. If we want to find this unsub, we'll need to know the ins and outs just as much as him," Hotch said.

They nodded and got to work, marking off certain areas that were of some importance.

"When we land, I want Reid and Prentiss to go to the ME, Rossi and JJ will speak to the families, and Morgan and Andy will go to the scene," Hotch instructed.

They nodded and kept doing their own work until the plane landed an hour later. Morgan and Andy drove quickly to the crime scene.

Andy hopped out first, pulling on her gloves quickly and examining the area.

"Wow...it's so beautiful," she turned to Morgan, "Did you know the trees here can be over one hundred and thirty feet tall? Isn't that amazing?"

Morgan chuckled, "Okay nerd, put that brain of yours to some use."

"Oh shush," she scolded.

A local police officer led them from the road out onto the trail.

"I'm Sheriff Wilson. You must be those FBI folks."

"I'm SSA Derek Morgan and this is SSA Andromeda Delvaux."

"Fancy name," he commented.

"Call me Andy."

The sheriff led them further down the trail to a more secluded area around the curve. A small ditch was just past the curve and they stopped at it. They looked down at the ditch to see imprints of where the bodies used to be.

"Not very hidden," Morgan observed.

"Not at all. It's not even that far off the trail."

"Do you think he wanted the bodies to be found?" the sheriff asked.

Andy shrugged as she took a step down. Morgan caught her hand to help her keep balanced as she slowly walked down to get a better advantage point.

When she was on the lower ground, she squatted down from the body's perspective. She noticed that the leaves looked a lot heavier next to the path. Specifically, it looked a lot denser from the path she took to get down to the bodies.

Morgan took a step down to join her. Andy noticed that he was about to step into a particularly dense area. Just as Morgan's foot was about to take another step, she saw the sharp tooth-like edge sticking up from the ground.

"Wait!"

Morgan froze with his foot in the air. She motioned for him to move back and she picked up a stick. When he was safely back on the beaten path, she tossed the stick to where he was about to step.

A bear trap snapped up and clenched its teeth on the stick. Morgan raised his eyebrows as Andy let out a sound of confusion.

"None of this makes sense. Why put the bodies in such an open area if you're gonna line the place with bear traps?" Morgan asked.

A thought popped in her head, "What if the unsub uses the bodies to lure other victims. Think about it, what do you do when you see someone that needs help?"

"Run over," the sheriff shrugged.

"Exactly! You run over and..." she made a motion that resembled stepping in the trap, landing in the exact spot where a body would've fallen next to the other imprints.

"So this is the trap and kill scene," Morgan stayed in disbelief.

Andy nodded, "This is his hunting ground."

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"You can not find peace by avoiding life."

-Virginia Woolf