Chapter 4: Gucci bags and murders

Spencer's POV

As the team and I gather around and sit in front of the evidence board, I can't help but think about Lina when she hugged my arm. I can still remember the smell of her perfume—like a combination of flowers and lemons. Not too strong like how some other girls wear their perfume.

I wonder how I smelled. I give myself a quick whiff under my arm. I just smell like detergent and coffee. Looking up, I see an officer looking at me and realize how weird it must've looked seeing someone sniff their own armpit, so I hurry away.

"Yang, did you and Reid find anything about the family?" Hotch asks Lina, sitting down in his seat.

Lina looks at me and I nod. "Well, we noticed that the parents didn't spend much money on their daughter," she answers.

"Yeah, the mother had many pairs of shoes and the father owned expensive watches—while the daughter had little to no toys and a very plain bedroom. Almost prison-like," I add.

"That's strange," a familiar voice says from behind me.

I turn around and see Officer Hughes, standing with his arms crossed in front of his chest.

"When I went to the previous two crime scenes, I also noticed that while the parents bought nice stuff for themselves—they gave the child little to no luxuries at all."

"Then we know the UnSub isn't targeting families with low income, since the parents are able to afford nice things," Rossi states.

"It's possible he's killing families that aren't treating their daughters well." JJ furrows her brows.

"He?" Lina questions, raising an eyebrow.

JJ looks at her confused. "Isn't the UnSub a he?"

"I'm not so sure about that." Lina stands up and walks to the evidence board. "Look at the pictures of the girls, all of them have their hair neatly braided. Dutch braids to be exact and those aren't easy to do." She points at the pictures on the board. "The clothes they were wearing were also neat and not wrinkled despite being dragged to the closet. Essentially, the UnSub nurtured them and these are typically things a mother would do, or a female figure."

"That would also explain the efficient kill—male killers are more aggressive and will inflict more injuries on their victims," I conclude.

"But why is she caring for the daughters and killing the parents?" Prentiss taps her fingers on the table.

"Perhaps the UnSub herself was also physically neglected when she was around the same age as the girls, since 8 to 11 years old is around the age when children can begin looking out for themselves more," suggests Morgan. "So she targets families that remind her of her own."

Everyone nods their head in agreement.

"Then that would put her in her mid-thirties now," Hotch remarks.

I rock back and forth in my chair. "There were also no footprints or DNA left on the crime scene so this suggests that the UnSub is highly organized and is able to lure her victims by using some sort of ruse—or may have personally known them."

"Looks like we're ready to give a profile," Hotch announces and everyone heads to the main office.

I quickly walk over to Lina to talk to her. "How are you doing?" I grin at her.

She looks at me and flashes her beautiful smile. "Great, I feel like we're going to catch this UnSub soon."

"You were a big help."

She blushes a bit. "We all did our part." She walks away and I follow closely behind her. There are police officers gathering around, waiting to be given a profile.

Hotch walks up to Lina. "Would you like to start?"

Lina looks at him, unsure of herself. "Me?"

He nods at her. "Yes. Just give them the age, gender, and race of the UnSub. Then tell them about the victimology and what to look out for. The rest of us will be here to add any more information."

"Okay then," Lina replies and quickly blows out a breath, looking nervous.

"Hey." I gently touch her arm and she glances up at me. "You got this," I assure her.

"Thanks." She smiles at me before turning to the front of the room. "We are looking for a white, female serial killer in her mid-thirties. She targets families with daughters whose parents don't care about them much."

Prentiss crosses her arms in front of her chest. "The UnSub shoots the parents in the head, while the children are killed by injecting a lethal amount of potassium under their tongue."

"Since there were no signs of forced entry in the homes, it's most likely the families knew her or were tricked by a ruse," I state.

JJ frowns. "The UnSub was most likely also neglected during her childhood, so she's avenging little girls who are in a similar situation as her."

"As for now, keep searching for anyone who may match these descriptions," Hotch states. "Thank you."

The officers nod diligently and spread out to work.

I watch as Lina walks over to me. "You did great," I say and she blushes.

Just then, an officer comes and whispers something in Hotch's ear and he sighs.

"What's wrong?" Morgan asks him.

Hotch looks at us with a solemn expression and says, "There's been another murder."

Three minutes later, the team and I are sitting in a conference room.

"The Watsons were found murdered approximately half an hour ago by neighbors," states JJ.

Before she can continue, the door suddenly bursts open and a cop comes in.

"Sorry to interrupt, but the media is pressing us with questions," he announces, out of breath.

Hotch sighs. "JJ, talk to the press and give them the profile."

"Got it, sir." JJ hurries away.

I look at the crime scene photos and see that it is the same MO. The parents were shot in the head and their daughter is lying dead with neatly braided hair and clean clothes.

Prentiss raises an eyebrow. "Same MO."

"Looks like the parents enjoyed an extravagant lifestyle as well," Rossi observes.

"And the daughter had very little possessions," I add, examining the pictures of her room.

"Wait, wait, wait—at the previous crime scenes, what was an expensive item that was common in all households?" Lina demands suddenly.

Prentiss looks at her. "The local detective mentioned that all the wives had designer bags."

"Any specific brands?"

Looking at the photos that were taken, Prentiss answers, "Gucci, Christian Dior, Burberry—all those high end stuff."

"Okay, thanks." Lina quickly dials her cellphone.

Two and a half rings later, I hear Garcia's voice.

"How can I be of service?" she asks, sounding cheerful.

"Hi, Garcia. I need you to search up the parents' credit card history of each family," Lina states, "see if they've been to the same place in the last 2 weeks or so."

"Uhhh, let's see...." Garcia replies and I hear typing on a keyboard. "Okie dokes, so it looks like all the families were at CityCenterDC and they bought some clothes, shoes, furniture, all those goodies."

"I knew it."

Hotch raises an eyebrow. "What is it, Yang?"

"The parents liked to buy expensive things for themselves, so I figured they must have gone to the mall frequently," she responds and quickly turns her attention back to Garcia. "Are there any common stores that they all shopped at?"

"It appears that all the wives bought a bag at Gucci," answers Garcia.

Realization spreads across Rossi's face. "So that's what all the families had in common. They all shopped at Gucci."

"Penelope, can you pull the list of female employees that work there?" I ask.

"I got like a dozen names. It's got to be more specific," she answers.

"See if any of them had any priors."

A few seconds later, her excited voice sounds over the phone. "Oh, I got three names! Danielle Brooks was charged for petty theft when she was 20. Josephine Grant was caught vandalizing school property at the age of 14. And... wow." She suddenly stops.

"What is it, Doll Face?" Morgan presses.

"Ms. Julia Wilson here was charged for prostitution, assault causing bodily harm, and attempted murder which put her in jail for 7 years," states Garcia. "Also, when she was 9 years old, she was pulled out of her home by social services due to physical neglect from her parents and was put in a foster home."

Prentiss leans forward in her chair. "When did she get out of jail?"

"Two months ago," answers Garcia. "And get this, she was only hired at Gucci 2 weeks ago."

"That's when the killings started," Rossi observes.

"Was she at work today?" Morgan furrows his brows.

Garcia types rapidly on her keyboard. "Yes, but she left early stating that she didn't feel well."

"She probably met the Watsons and took off early to kill them," I conclude.

Hotch nods in agreement. "Garcia, can you—"

"Already sent a picture of her and the address to you," Garcia answers for him and he smiles.

"Morgan, Prentiss, Reid, and Yang can ride together. The rest of you guys can come with me," Hotch says with authority and everyone stands up to leave.

I sit in the back of the car with Lina on the drive to Phoebe's house. Glancing over at her, I notice that she looks nervous and a bit scared. "Are you okay, Lina?"

She looks at me with worried eyes. "Yeah, it's just that this is my first time having to face someone with a gun."

"We'll all make sure that you're safe, so don't worry," I assure her and she smiles.

"Why are you so nice to me?" Lina asks and I cock my head. "I mean, we've only known each other for a day but you're the only one who seems to really care how I feel about all this."

I check my watch briefly. "Actually we've known each other for 9 hours, 18 minutes, and 42 seconds... and counting." I give her a goofy grin and she laughs at my quick math. But then my face turns more serious. "But to be honest, I don't know why. I think it's because I just feel more comfortable around you."

She furrows her brows. "What do you mean? You seem comfortable with everyone here."

I shake my head. "Yes, but that's because I've been working with them for 3 years.... For some reason, talking with you seems so..." I purse my lips trying to think of a word to describe how I feel when I'm around her. "It just seems so easy."

"Well, I'm glad to hear that," she says softly, placing her hand on mine and I can see Morgan's smirk in the rearview mirror.

After that, everyone is silent for the rest of the car ride until we reach Phoebe's house.

"We're ready, Hotch," Prentiss announces into her walkie-talkie. She turns around and looks at Lina. "Are you ready, Yang?"

"Ready," Lina answers with determination.