EASY WAY OUT ¹ ➢ spencer reid

XVII

When I arrived to work on Tuesday I was absolutely terrified.

Reid and I had sex again. After he showed up at my house we got right to it, ignoring our need to sleep until we finally passed out from the exhaustion. The next morning he didn't leave. We spent the whole day together. We made breakfast and just sat around, participating in the same witty banter we did every over day. Despite the newness of it, it didn't feel weird. There were no conversational lulls or awkward moments. It felt like we'd been doing it forever.

I walked into the office, gripping my coffee mug tightly. I glanced up at him, but he was too busy reading papers to even notice me. He left my house earlier this morning to get ready, so seeing him here so soon felt weird.

I wandered over to my desk, letting out a heavy breath as I threw my go back on the floor and sat down. I put my mug on the desk and swivelled around back and forth in my chair, waiting for work to officially begin.

"Hey guys, we just got a call." Hotch practically ran out of his office, giving us a concerned stare. We knew immediately it was case time so we all stood from our desks and walked into the debriefing room, taking our seats as we turned our attention to JJ who stood at the front of the room rifling through files. She handed them out to everyone and then straightened her posture, gripping the remote in her hand as she threw up some pictures of our latest victim.

"Anna Jenkins, age twenty-five went out clubbing with a couple of friends in Oakland, California. According to their statements Anna left shortly after one o'clock with a stranger." JJ sighed. "The two reportedly went back to his place."

I examined the photo, attempting to note her injuries. She had ligature marks on her wrists as well as her neck. On her torso were various stab wounds. Three in total. Along with that she was covered in bruises and burns as well as deep cuts and scrapes. I brought my hand to my face, tapping my lip with my index finger curiously.

"The autopsy report concluded that she died of asphyxiation." JJ added.

"Some of those stab wounds look partially healed." I pointed to the one on the bottom left corner of her stomach. "That one looks like it's been stitched up."

"When was she taken?" Morgan asked.

"She'd been missing for about a month." JJ responded. "They found her behind a dumpster near downtown early this morning."

Reid leaned back in his chair. He brought his pen up to his face, giving the end of a it a quick bite before pointing it towards JJ. "It looks like he's been injuring her periodically."

"She's got bruising, cuts, burns..." Rossi narrowed his eyes.

"Were there any signs of rape?" Hotch asked.

JJ nodded. "They found traces of semen."

"Was this before or after she died?" Morgan asked.

"Both." JJ responded.

"So he picks her up at a bar with all her friends. Did they not get a good look at this guy?" Rossi asked.

"Anna's friend Kate said she went out for a smoke. She got a text not long after telling her she was leaving with him." JJ responded.

"Sounds like a lust killing," Reid concluded, "the more torture and mutilation he inflicts on the victim the more sexual gratification he gets."

"Makes sense," I said, "it looks like he was almost experimenting on her."

"Do you think this is his first victim then?" JJ asked.

I shrugged. "Could be. Based on the vast amount of injuries it looks like he was testing things out, trying to discover what he does and doesn't like in his methods."