4.) Hypnotizing

Back at the police station, Spencer and I were sitting in a room together, working on separate assignments. He was looking for any connections between the suicides, while I looked through an old yearbook that Rossi had requested for me.

"Where did you say you went to school?" He asked me.

"I didn't. I was homeschooled." I responded, looking up from the book.

"Really? Did you just not want to go to regular school or...?"

"There was really no point. Whenever I got comfortable, started making friends...we'd have to pack up and move again. So my grandma decided that homeschooling would be for the best, and she was right. I knew way more then the average teenager did anyways, plus I was studying way above my education level."

"So you're pretty smart then." He smirked.

"Not as smart as you, Dr. Reid, but...smart enough." I flirted. Ugh, what the hell am I doing? Why am I flirting with this man, when I should be focusing? "Um...have you found anything yet?"

"Nothing that is making sense. You?"

"Same. I just...wait a minute. Do you have a list of the parents names?"

"I believe so. Why? What are you thinking?" He asked.

"I'm thinking that I might've found a connection." I said, standing up. "Okay, Diana Davis, who was Diana Thompson back in highschool, before she married Sean Davis."

"That's Lauren Davis's parents."

"Yep." I started writing down the names of the parents, looking up their pictures in the yearbook, and it was all starting to make sense. "Everyone I saw bully him is...is on this board! And now he's taking it out on their kids, but how?!"

"Wait what? You saw someone get bullied? What are you talking about?" He asked me.

"I can't really go into detail right now, but I promise I will explain everything later. In the meantime...I need to find Hotch and Rossi." Right on cue, Hotch and JJ walked into the room.

"Have you found anything?" JJ asked Reid.

"I haven't, but Melanie might have."

"What did you find?" Hotch asked. I explained what I found, pairing it up with what I saw, without revealing too much since JJ and Reid were present. "We need some type of proof, before making accusations. What do you need to make that happen?"

"I'm going to need to touch their personal belongings. A shirt, jewelry...something, but it has to be what they wore when they died." I said.

"I'm not sure, but I think I can make that happen. I'll be right back." He excused himself, followed by JJ, leaving me and Spencer alone once again.

"Why are you so sure that the guidance counselor is our unsub?" He asked me.

"When I met him earlier, I just got a really weird vibe from him. I know it sounds crazy, but I've always been known to trust my gut and my gut tells me that something isn't right about him."

"That doesn't sound crazy at all. Usually when a person has what we call a 'gut feeling', they tend to be right about certain situations. I tend to lean towards physics, but every once in awhile, I may go with my gut. That's important when doing what we do." Ugh, he was just too cute for words.

"Melanie?" Rossi called out. "Listen, I know I kind of roped you into this without asking, but...are you sure you want to do this? Don't get me wrong, with your gift, we can solve this case and so many others; but at the same time...I don't want you to do anything you're not comfortable doing."

"You didn't rope me into anything, Rossi, and I'm positive that I want to do this. Besides...I'm already invested in this case, so I'm going to see it through." I told him. Soon after, Hotch appeared with a box, sitting it down on the table.

"What's this?" Reid asked.

"Possessions belonging to the deceased kids." He responded. "I got these without authorization, so whatever you need to do, do it quick." I nodded, grabbing the box and pulling out an evidence bag.

"Peter Johnson." I murmured, looking on the board. His father, Chris Johnson, was on the board. I pulled out a piece of his clothing, removing my gloves, as I glanced up at Reid; who was watching me with confusion on his face, along with JJ. "Here goes nothing." I placed my hands on the shirt and closed my eyes, seeing a boy throwing around a football with his friend. At first, he was smiling and laughing, debating on who he should ask to an upcoming dance; but then something weird happens. His watch beeps and he just...turns and walks away from his friend. His face was emotionless and he looked...lifeless.

"Peter, where you going man?" I could hear his friend asking, as he slowly walked through the woods. It was as if he was under some kind of spell, as he moved through the dark woods. He approaches a cliff, that overlooks the river, and without second guessing...he dives to his death.

I gasp, stumbling backwards, as Rossi caught me.

"What did you see?" He asked me.

"He was fine at first, playing ball with his friend, and then out of nowhere...he just stopped and started walking into the woods." I said. "He looked so dazed and disoriented, like the lights were on, but nobody was home."

"Did you notice anything else?" Hotch asked me.

"His watched beeped, which is when he went into a zombified state, and he...he..." I couldn't even bring myself to say it. I reached into the box again, pulling out another evidence bag.

"Can someone explain to me what is going on?" JJ asked.

"I'd like to know that myself." I heard Reid murmur. Ignoring them, I reached into the evidence bag of Lauren Davis, pulling out a necklace and holding it in my hands. I saw a girl, sitting on her bed doing homework, feeling anxious about something. Her phone vibrated and she smiled, responding to a text message, which I'm going to assume was to the girl I met earlier today.

"Okay...it's now or never." She whispered, as she stood up. She was about to walk out of the room, until she just stopped, and slowly turned around. The clock read 8:00pm as she slowly moved towards her desk, unplugging her laptop cord. She had the same dazed look on her face, as she stood in a chair, and wrapped the cord around her neck. She looked unaware of what she was doing and I could physically feel the fear she felt, while wrapping the remaining cord around her ceiling fan. Without second guessing, she kicked the chair over and hung herself, struggling until she couldn't struggle no more.

"Holy shit!" I said, dropping the necklace.

"What did you see?" Rossi asked.

"Literally the same thing. She was fine at first, then when the clock struck eight, she went dazed and disoriented."

"Hold on..." Reid said, grabbing a file off of the table. "According to the autopsy reports, all the suicides happened in between eight and nine, but...how could you possibly have known that?"

"Exactly, unless you looked into the files, which are strictly confidential." JJ added. I was about to give them a brief explanation, until Emily rushed into the room.

"Another student just attempted suicide." She said. "Apparently, her mom came home early and caught her taking a ton of sleeping pills, but they got her to the hospital just in time."

"That's good." JJ said.

"Yeah, but it was strange. Her mother said that she seemed...disoriented, like she didn't even attempt to stop taking those pills, even after she was caught doing it." Both Reid and JJ looked at me, along with Hotch and Rossi.

"We need to get to the hospital. Rossi, Melanie, Reid...you're with me. The rest of you, check the scene of the crime, and find out where Morgan is." Hotch instructed.

Arriving at the hospital, I kept my distance from Reid, who kept giving me sideways glances the whole way here. I knew he had questions and I was prepared to give him answers, but now wasn't the time.

"Mrs. Vasquez, I'm SSA Aaron Hotchner, this is SSA David Rossi, Dr. Spencer Reid, and Melanie. We're with the FBI, investigating the recent suicides--" Hotch went on with his introduction, as I slipped away. I looked in the window and gasped, seeing the girl I spoke with earlier, laying unconscious in the bed.

"You know her?" Reid asked, walking up beside me.

"I met her earlier today." I told him.

"Did she seem suicidal?"

"No, not at all. I mean...she was hurt from the loss of her friend, but she didn't seem like the type to just end it all." I looked back at Hotch and Rossi, who were asking the mother questions, before looking up at Reid. "I need you to stand watch."

"What are you going to do?" He asked me.

"What I do best." I responded, slipping into her room. Reid watched me closely, looking back every now and then, as I approached Melissa's bed. Removing my gloves, I grabbed her cold hand, and closed my eyes.

I saw Melissa entering the guidance counselor's office, where he offered her a seat. He started the conversation off by asking her how she was, before she burst into tears.

"I just don't understand why she did this! Was it because of me? Did I push her to come out, when she clearly wasn't ready?!" She sobbed.

"I know it may seem that way, but it's not your fault. The truth is...Lauren was in pain, and she did the only thing she thought would stop the pain." He said. "I even offered her a way to stop the pain, but she insisted on doing things her way."

"What do you mean you offered her a way to stop the pain?" He smirked and placed his hands over a metronome.

"This device helps even the darkest of souls find the light. I know you're hurting now, but with the help of this...you'll never hurt again." I could feel how conflicted she was, but the pain she was feeling overpowered everything.

"What do I have to do?" She asked.

I quickly let go of her hand, before exiting her room, and flagging down Rossi.

"What is it?" Reid asked, just as Rossi walked over to us.

"He's hypnotizing them!" I said. "He has a metronome in his office, which is what he's using, and the students never know because they trust him!"

"Hypnosis...that would explain the dazed and disoriented looks, but why would he be hypnotizing them?"

"He's getting revenge on the parents that bullied him, when they were all in school! But instead of seeking revenge on them, he's taking his anger out on their kids!"

"That actually makes...a lot of sense." Rossi said, pulling out his phone. "Garcia, I need you to find and send me everything you can on a Peter Michaelson. We believe he's the one behind this." He walked away, filling Hotch in on what I had just discovered.

"I don't remember you writing Vasquez on the board, so why would the unsub target this particular student?" Reid questioned.

"That's...actually a really good question." I murmured. Unfortunately, we never figured out why Peter Michaelson targeted Melissa Vasquez, nor did we get a verbal confession. When the police went to his house to bring him in for questioning, they discovered that he had taken his own life, with a written note that simply said:

They got what they deserve.

Maybe he knew we were on to him, which is why he killed himself, but sadly...we'll never know.