Chapter 10: Red hair and clubs

Spencer's POV

Five months later.

"You like it, son?" my barber, John, asks me.

I look in the mirror and see my new haircut. I haven't had a chance to cut it for awhile—which didn't bother me—but the other day a girl from the book store mistaken me for her mom from the back of my head. "Yeah, I like it," I reply, "how much?"

"That'll be 27 dollars." John fluffs my hair.

"Twenty-seven?" I repeat and pull out some cash from my wallet. "You know, back in the 1800s, a haircut only cost 5 to 10 cents and shaving cost 3 cents?"

"Does it look like we're in the 1800s?" he asks, sounding annoyed.

"N-no, sir." I quickly hand him the cash and leave. I scheduled an early appointment so I still have time to grab a coffee before heading to work. On the way into the coffee shop, I see Lina waiting in line. "Lina!" I call out and she turns her head around.

"Hi, Spencer!" She smiles brightly at me.

"Coffee run?" I ask and she nods. I glance up and down at her and grin. My God, she looks so pretty. Today is a warm day and she's wearing a black sleeveless blouse, black dress pants, and her usual Converse—she also has a bit of makeup on.

"Nice haircut by the way." She reaches her hand up to the top of my head and ruffles my hair. "Suits you very nicely, Spencer."

"Thanks," I reply and blush. "And you know, you don't always have to call me by my full name. Just 'Spence' will be fine."

She winks at me. "Alright then, Spence."

Just then, the barista, Donna gestures for the next customer to come forward. "Next!" she calls out and Lina steps up. "Good morning, sweetie. What can I get you today?"

"Hi, Donna. Just a black coffee, please." Lina smiles politely.

"That'll be $1.85."

"Actually, I can pay for that," I state, grinning at Lina.

"Why, Spence?" she asks.

"Because I feel like buying you coffee." I give Donna the cash.

"What? Oh, Spence...."

"One black coffee coming right up," Donna announces and walks away.

"You didn't need to do that," Lina says and looks at me. "You've been bringing me coffee every morning for the past 8 months that I've been at the BAU.

"And this morning is no exception." I smile.

Lina sighs and grins at me. "Alright fine, but I'm buying you lunch." After I order my coffee, we both head up to the BAU where I see Garcia talking to Morgan at his desk.

"Shhh! Here they come!" Garcia whispers and I narrow my eyes at her.

"Hey, Pretty Boy. I like your cut," Morgan gestures to my hair, distracting me from what Garcia said.

"Thanks," I reply, "and what exactly are you guys talking about?"

Garcia looks nervous. "Nothing."

Lina smiles suspiciously at her. "Are you sure about that, PG?"

"Don't forget, we're profilers," I say, "we can tell when you're lying."

Just then, Hotch comes over to us. "Good morning, everyone. Conference room in five."

"Looks like we got another case," Morgan says and we all nod.

Five minutes later, everyone is in the conference room. I settle down in a chair and Lina sits next to me, flashing me a smile and I blush. I hear giggling and see Prentiss and JJ watching us, but they quickly look away when they see me squinting my eyes at them.

"Alright, now that everyone's here, Garcia you can start," Hotch states.

"Over the course of 3 weeks, the bodies of three men have been found in dumpsters in Hibbing, Minnesota with a single GSW to the head," Garcia announces. "The victims' names are John Scott, Luke Cooper, and Mitchell Bennett. They are all in their mid-twenties."

Prentiss cracks her neck. "What's the connection between them?"

"The bartender said that all three victims were at his club hours before their death." Garcia hands everyone a case file.

"They have bruises on their faces and cuts all over their bodies," Rossi observes, "so they were tortured first."

"All these guys were found only in their underwear," Prentiss adds. "Were there any signs of sexual assault?"

"Nope," Garcia responds, "but there were high amounts of alcohol in their system."

I take a sip off my coffee. "They were probably drunk since they were at the club."

"They also have ligature marks on their wrists and ankles which means they were tied up," states Morgan, looking at the crime photos.

"This suggests that the UnSub isn't physically strong enough to subdue these men. So they drug them and tie them up."

"But why does the UnSub bother doing all of that if he's just gonna shoot them in the head?" Lina questions. "There's no evidence of torture."

Garcia raises her eyebrows. "Actually, the UnSub might be a she."

"A she?" Prentiss asks, bewildered.

"Forensics found a strand of long, red hair at the third and fifth crime scene." Garcia paces around. "The families of the victims were interviewed and none of them said that the men knew a woman with red hair."

Rossi scratches his beard. "Did the hair match any DNA in our system?"

With a sigh, she replies, "No."

"But generally, female UnSubs don't torture their victims," I say, and then I point at the photos of the victims. "The bruising on their faces look like they were punched, and the marks are too big for them to be done by women—since females have smaller hands—which means the person who beat them was most likely a man."

"What if there are two UnSubs?" suggests Lina and everyone looks at her.

Hotch sits up straighter. "What makes you think that?"

"They were all at the club before they were killed, right?" Lina begins and everyone nods. "So what if the female lured them to another location, where her male partner did the torturing and killing?"

"But what about tying them up?" asks Prentiss. "How would she be able to hold them down and restrain them?"

"Perhaps she was offering to do some kinky stuff with them," Morgan suggests, "which would also explain why these men were half naked."

"Well, whoever these two are, we better move quickly. They're killing once a week," Hotch states. "Wheels up in 30."

I stand next to Lina as she grabs her files. "Hey, it's been 3 weeks since your surgery, right?"

"Mhm. My doctor said I can return back to all my normal activities now," Lina replies. "As much as I've enjoyed hanging out with Garcia in her 'lair', I miss chasing down bad guys with the team." She smiles at me and I laugh. As we walk back to our desks to grab our stuff, I see Morgan and walk over to him.

"Hey, Derek," I greet him.

He looks up at me. "What's up, Pretty Boy?"

"Um, are you and Garcia hiding something from Lina and I?" I refer to the secretive conversation that they were having this morning.

Morgan chuckles and puts an arm around my shoulder. "Look, Kid, we were just saying how Yang makes you happy. You like her, right?"

"Yeah, I guess I do." I blush and smile brightly. "She's smart, beautiful, kind, unique, empathetic—I can go on forever."

He smirks and pats me on the back. "Well then what are you waiting for, playa?" he teases, "ask her out already."

"I don't know if she likes me back though."

"C'mon man, we're all profilers here. Everyone on the team knows that Yang has some trust issues. But the way she talks to you—she trusts and likes you."

"Really?"

Morgan scoffs and just shakes his head. "Just ask her out." He walks away. Just then, I feel a small tap on my shoulder. I turn around and see Lina standing behind me.

"You ready to go?" she asks, smiling brightly.

"Yeah," I reply and return the smile. Around thirty minutes later, the team and I are on the jet, getting ready to take off. Lina comes to sit next to me so I scooch over.

After that, Hotch gives us orders on what to do when we land. "Rossi and Yang, head over to the dump sites. Morgan and Reid, head to the club where the victims were at. And the rest, come with me to the station to meet the detective and interview the victims' families." An hour later, we arrive and head to our destinations.

"You ready?" Morgan asks me.

I strap in my seatbelt. "Yup, let's go." I sit in the passenger seat as Morgan drives to the club. From outside the window, I can see an old bartender with a beard wiping down the tables inside. Morgan knocks on the window and the man walks to the door and opens it.

"We ain't open till' seven, fellas," the bartender grunts. I notice the name tag on his shirt says "Bill". Then Morgan and I show him our credentials and he looks surprised.

"Hi, I'm Agent Derek Morgan and this is Dr. Spencer Reid," Morgan states. "We're with the FBI."

Bill's eyes widen. "FBI? What brings you two here?"

"We're here to investigate the murders of three men," I state.

"Well you ain't gonna find nothin' here, boy. The police already questioned me. All I remember is that those fellas were here having drinks." Bill walks back to the tables and we follow him in.

"Was there anything or anyone suspicious at all over the past 3 weeks?" Morgan asks and Bill shakes his head.

I cross my arms over my chest. "What about customers that come here frequently?"

"There's gotta be a dozen people here that I see every night," Bill answers, then suddenly he looks thoughtful.

"What is it?" Morgan asks, "you look like you remember something."

"Yeah, yeah." Bill scratches his beard. "There's this one girl—young, red-headed, and a real catch. She started coming here 3 weeks ago, but only on Wednesdays."

"What's on Wednesday?" Morgan questions.

"Whiskey Wednesday. We give out free whiskey cocktails all night."

"You said she has red hair?" I ask, intrigued.

"Yup. Can never forget her." Bill continues wiping the table. "Most of the time I only see blondes and brunettes."

"And what does she do when she's here?" I ask excitedly, I feel like we are getting some good answers.

"Orders a drink, flirts with a couple of guys, and takes one 'em home."

Morgan rubs his chin. "Does she always go home with someone?"

Bill nods. "Mhm."

"So she takes advantage of the fact that there are free drinks, which means people will be more likely to get drunk," I say. "Then while men are under the influence of alcohol, she lures them out."

"Sir, do you have security cameras here?" Morgan asks Bill.

"Sure I do." Bill swings the tablecloth over his shoulder. "You wanna take a look at 'em?" We nod and he takes us to a room in the back. He flips through some videos and stops at one. "Here she is, right there." He points a finger at a woman who is wearing a glittery, black dress, and flirting with a man.

"That's Mitchell Bennett, the most recent victim," I observe.

"And this is the Whiskey Wednesday thing that you're talking about, right?" Morgan confirms.

"Yes, sir," Bill answers.

"Today's Wednesday. That means she's coming here again tonight."

I nod and watch the video. "Is there another angle? Her face isn't in the shot."

"Sorry, son," says Bill. "Only got one camera in here."

Morgan puts a hand on the table. "So she knows where the cameras are and she's hiding her face from it."

"Will you be able to describe what she looks like to a sketch artist?" I ask.

"Why?" Bill puts a hand on his hip. "Are you saying that she's the one who's responsible for 'em murders?"

"She's the lead suspect."

Bill sighs. "Alrighty then." After that, we head back to the police station and have Bill sit with a sketch artist.

"Did you find anything?" Hotch comes up from behind me.

"The bartender says that every Wednesday, a woman with red hair comes in." I state, "He says she orders a drink, flirts with guys, and takes one home."

"It's highly likely she's one of the UnSubs then." He opens the case file he's holding. "Can you call Yang and see if she and Rossi are finished at the dump sites? I'm going to set up the evidence board."

"Yeah, sure." I quickly dial Lina's number. It rings a few times and she picks up.

"Hello?" Lina answers over the phone.

"Hey! Hotch was wondering if you and Rossi are finished at the dumps sites."

"Oh, yeah. We're in the car right now."

"Okay then, see you later."

"Bye, Spencer." She hangs up and I can tell that she's smiling over the phone.