'We usually ignore the little things that matter. The small details that can change a life. Those simple gestures. A simple smile of hope, a simple touch of support, a few words of strength. These small uplifting things can turn a life around.'
|| S...
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"The clock talked loud. I threw it away. It scared me when it talked." Tillie Olsen
###
Laylah sat back in the comfortable chair in the bullpen, her eyes already scanning the file Penelope had given her; taking in the horrific images before her. Penelope couldn't bring herself to look at the images on the screen for long, keeping eye contact with the team for as long as she could at a time. It was late at night, Hotch having called them in. She'd been at home, sliding into bed when the text came through.
'St. Augustine, Florida, two bodies were found early this evening in a remote wooded area just west of the city. Neither have been identified yet,' Penelope explained.
'This woman's complexion,' Tara stated, unable to put her finger on a word to describe it.
'She was exsanguinated, which is a really fun word to say, but I didn't know its terrible meaning until I started working here.'
'Odd that only the female had her blood removed,' Laylah muttered.
'Well, the male victim might have been collateral damage or a witness that needed to be silenced,' JJ suggested.
'I mean it is the kind of message that rival drug gangs would send to each other,' Tara agreed; 'The Curiel syndicate recently set up shop in Florida.'
'Except it looks like these two were meant to vanish without anyone the wiser,' Rossi glanced at the photos again; 'How is that a message?'
'Well, cartels have also been known to use murder as a form of voodoo,' Derek offered.
'In nineteen eighty nine, a university of Texas student was murdered by a satanic gang while on spring break,' Laylah added.
'Well, my gut says it has nothing to do with drugs,' JJ disagreed; 'More like straight out vampirism or someone with a blood fetish.'
'It's late and we need to hit the ground running. Wheels up in thirty,' Hotch instructed.
They all moved, Laylah sending Penelope an encouraging smile before she left.
###
Laylah's fingers tapped against her thigh as she read the coroner's report, analysing every little bit of it.
'The coroner attributes the lacerations on the bodies to animal bites,' Derek stated; 'Apparently there's a lot of raccoons in the area.'
'Maybe so, but the media's going all in with satanic mutilation,' JJ raised her brows.
'It's happened before. The West Memphis Three case showed how animal activity on a corpse can be mistaken for for ritualised torture,' Hotch continued.
