Awake | 𝐂𝐫𝐢𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐌𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐬

VII

"You okay?" Angel asked, sliding onto the stool beside him, nudging his shoulder lightly with hers. He glanced at her, his expression softening just a little, but he still seemed distant. "Yeah, just... stuff with Jessie," he admitted with a shrug, not meeting her eyes. Angel could see the hurt buried beneath his casual tone. "Want me to kick her butt?" she offered with a smirk, trying to lighten the mood. Elijah let out a small laugh, the tension in his shoulders easing slightly. "Nah, I'll manage," he said, but there was a gratefulness in his voice that Angel noticed. Despite the teasing and bickering, she knew they had each other's backs. "Okay, but the offer stands. Free of charge," she replied, grabbing a piece of toast from his plate with a mischievous grin. He rolled his eyes but didn't try to stop her.

Walking onto the crime scene, slightly hungover, Angel looked at Derek. "For a new body, it looks old" she said, pulling the pillow away from the older man's face. A gun shot wound sat through the middle of the man's face. "Was that a joke?" Derek asked with a teasing smile. "No, but I see how it could be" she smiled as Derek looked around the room. Angel walked away from the body, walking over to the door, she went to open it. The door clicked, it didn't do that when she walked in, or when Derek walked in.

She looked at Derek, but didn't want to tell him anything yet encase she was just crazy and it had clicked when she opened and closed it last time.

Angel felt the door handle, walking to the other side, looking into the lock of the handle. "Whoever did this, picked the lock" she said to Derek.

Derek furrowed his brow, stepping closer to Angel as she inspected the door. "Picked the lock?" he asked, his tone more serious now, dropping the teasing from earlier. "That means they knew what they were doing. Wanted in and out without a trace." Angel nodded, turning the handle slowly, listening for any more clicks. She took a deep breath, letting her fingers trace the edges of the lock, noticing faint scratches around the keyhole. "Yeah, look at this," she gestured Derek closer. "It's subtle, but definitely signs of tampering. Whoever they are, they were careful."

Derek studied the lock and then glanced back at the body, the older man's face twisted in the silence of death. "Careful enough to pick a lock but sloppy enough to leave a mess like this? Doesn't add up."
Angel stood up, her eyes scanning the room with a new intensity. "Yeah, something feels off about it. Either they panicked, or... they wanted us to find this. To notice the difference." Derek's jaw tensed. "Or they're playing with us." Angel turned back to the door, her thoughts churning. "Either way, we've got to find out why."

As Angel looked around the room, Derek's phone rang, making her jump. Derek chuckled at her jumpiness and picked up his phone. "Hey Hotch. Yeah, me and O'Connor are fine, just about to wrap up" he said as Angel let her mind wander.

Alcohol, hotel room, microwave dinner, Damon Le'Odair case. She thought. That's when a thought about the case hit her.

She walked out of the room, looking for a police officer. "What time was this body reported dead?" She asked. "This morning. Why?" The police officer asked. She scoffed in disbelief quietly as she walked back into the room to Derek. "Whoever killed this man, was here last night. He knew we where gonna he here" she said. "How?" Derek asked. "The lock was locked, carful, quiet. Pillow over the face, probably had a silencer too. But this guy was paralyzed, burned, in a nursing home, all you really needed to do was turn off his oxygen, but no. Whoever our Unsub is, wanted this body found.

Spencer approached the crowd of onlookers and press gathered around the scene. A man at the center of attention, giving an interview, looked visibly upset but Spencer's instincts told him to see through the bullshit.

"And my brother... he was such a good man. I can't believe someone would murder him like this," the man lamented for the cameras, his voice trembling slightly. Spencer stepped forward. "Excuse me," he interrupted, his calm voice cutting through the chatter. "Hi, I'm Dr. Spencer Reid with the FBI." All eyes and cameras shifted to him. "Do you happen to know how your brother was killed?" he asked, watching the man's reaction closely.