memento vivere - supernatural & criminal minds

chapter 4

Chapter 4
Kindling

Jude gnawed at her thumbnail while she stared at the chess board on Spencer’s desk. From the look of the board and the extreme wrinkle in Spencer’s brow, she was winning. He’d taught her how to play at the FBI academy and that was how they’d spent most of their lunches - that or crossword puzzles, which Spencer had to make an active effort to slow down on so Jude could contribute.

Jude’s chess strategy improved during their stretch at the academy, but Spencer still demolished her in most matches. This only began to change a few weeks ago after she asked Gideon for lessons - she hadn’t told Spencer about this, so he just thought she’d become infuriatingly good at the game.

“May I?” She looked up to see Gideon gesturing at the board and nodded. He moved one of her white pieces and said “Checkmate in three.” Jude studied the board for a moment and smiled when she saw it.

“What…” Spencer sighed, looking baffled.

“You know,” Morgan called from his desk, “you’ll start beating them again when you learn to think outside the box.”

“Shut up,” Spencer whispered, leaning further over the board. Jude’s phone buzzed in her pocket and she pulled it out to see a text notification. When she looked back up, Spencer had turned the board and was playing against himself. 

“That from your secret boyfriend?” Morgan smirked as Jude rolled her chair back to her desk across from him.

Jude snorted and held up the phone. “No, it’s your girlfriend.” It was Penelope double-checking that she was free that weekend. They had standing weekly marathons to spend more time together - Penelope basically lived in her office so they rarely saw each other at work anymore - and their current venture was The X-Files. 

“BAU team, can you meet me in the conference room, please?” Hotch called from the platform around the bullpen. “I need to show you something.” 

“Sir, yes, sir,” Jude muttered under her breath and stood, nudging Spencer as she passed him. His focus on the chess board broke and he flinched like she’d electrocuted him. “Don’t drive yourself crazy with that,” she chastened.

“Too late.” 

The team took their seats around the conference room’s round table, their vision immediately falling to the screen mounted on the wall. JJ was there with a remote in hand, her expression grim.

“This is from the Phoenix office,” Hotch began, setting the case file on the table. “Bradshaw College in Tempe, six fires in seven months.”

“Who recorded it?” Gideon asked.

“A student with a digital camcorder,” JJ answered. “He was watching a fire in the building across from their dorm. The other person you’ll see is his roommate, twenty-year-old Matthew Rowland.” 

Jude turned in her chair as JJ started the video. It showed a building at night with white-hot, flaming windows and a wreath of smoke. “This is crazy. Hey, Matt, get over here. You gotta see this. The building’s on fire.” A young man came into focus in the reflection and a glance down at the case file told Jude that the man - Matthew - was their victim.

About a minute in, the camera flipped to the opposite side of the room as liquid began to pool beneath the door. In the corner of the frame, Jude noticed the doorknob rattle like someone was trying to get in. Matthew inched closer to the door, dragging his feet through the puddle. “It smells like gas.”

Light bloomed beneath the doorway and fire leaped up Matthew’s body, engulfing him. Jude turned her head down, only able to listen as the camera crashed to the floor and Matthew’s roommate rushed to smother the flames. On his lap, Spencer had a copy of the autopsy report that showed Matthew’s charred corpse. He saw the discomfort on her face and covered the image with his hand.