NO GOOD DEED || S. REID

3.12

    KATHARINE MISSED THE THRILL OF BEING ON A CASE. She chalked it up to the fact that she was an adrenaline junkie but she knew better. It was the thought of being able to change even one life for the better that made her fall in love with her work. So what if she wasn't the best profiler on a team of elite profilers, she knew where her strengths lied and was perfectly okay with that.

    The team had hit the ground running with this one, splitting up as usual. Katharine and Emily had been tasked with checking out the Sparks' music store while the rest of the team were spread out, either at the crime scene or the police station.

    Katharine walked through the doors of the music store, quickly stowing away her FBI badge that she had used to bypass the officers stationed out front. Emily was not too far behind her, having stopped to ask the officers anything they knew before entering the shop.

    She headed straight for the front counter, crouching down to peruse the shelves before pulling out the thick red book that read orders and payments across the front. She flipped to the bookmarked page, opening up to the most recent purchases. She ran her fingers down the gridded page, reading each transaction made in the store.

    "Well, it looks like they were open to alternative methods of payment," Katharine told Emily, squinting in an attempt to make out the messy handwriting. "There's some construction work for a child's drum set and cleaning services for sheet music."

    "Bartering must be popular in a cash-strapped area like this," Emily said, coming around the counter. She looked at the television which had been left on, transmitting video from the cameras the Sparks had installed. "They have video surveillance, which is good news. There's a good possibility the unsub was here."

    Katharine nodded, closing the book. She had read enough about the financial history of the family. "These guys do like to scout their targets prior to abduction. They get off on the fact the victims never see them coming. We should get those tapes to Garcia."

    Emily made a noise of agreement, taking the tapes off the shelf with a gloved hand. Katharine would have been concerned had the entire team made the switch to latex-free materials. It was a sweet gesture, initially proposed by Rossi after she had confessed her reasoning for bringing her own gloves to crime scenes.

    "Look at these drawings," Emily said after bagging the tapes. She had walked back into the general vicinity of the store at this point, looking over a desk that was exactly opposite the register. Katharine walked over to her and looked down at the pictures she was referring to. "This must be Sammy's desk. Alison and Charlie really went out of their way to accommodate Sammy's condition. He must have come here after school every day."

    Katharine pursed her lips. "So that means he was a fixture, not just in the store but in the community."

    Emily pushed some of the papers around, revealing even more artwork.

"It's no wonder the Sparks had to take out a loan," Emily said, stepping away from the desk. She pulled off her gloves and wrapped them in each other, shoving them into her pocket. "They put all of their money into helping their son."

Katharine sighed, taking one last look at Sammy's drawings.

"Such dedicated parents," she commented, crossing her arms. "What happens to Sammy if we can't find them?"

"Garcia's searching for relatives now," Emily informed her. The two women made moves to exit the building, Emily taking the lead this time. "If she can't find anyone, then he will be turned over to the state, and he'll be placed in a special needs foster facility. Let's make sure that doesn't happen."