CHAPTER EIGHTEEN: FORGET ME TOO !

14x02

━━━━━━

CASEY WALKED INSIDE OF HER OFFICE WITH A TIRED LOOK ON HER FACE, ONLY TO BE MET WITH GARCIA'S CONTENT AND HAPPY ONE SITTING IN FRONT OF HER DESK. "Hey, sorry I'm late. Getting Chris out of bed was rough this morning." She stated as she plopped down in her seat and that's when Garcia noticed the change.

"Hey, you're back to your regular hair color." Garcia pointed out. It was true, Casey had gone back to her regular brunette hair color. "Yeah, well, my roots were coming back and I didn't wanna re-dye it so I went back to brown." Casey shrugged. "Gotta say, I missed that color on you. Although blonde you was fun... ma'am." Garcia stated.

           Casey gives Garcia a look and closes her eyes. "Garcia, we've been over this. I am far too young to be a 'ma'am'." Casey told. "Got it then, boss." Casey winks at Garcia, "That's more like it."

          "Anyways, I was just going through potential cases." Garcia stated, holding her tablet up. Casey looks at Garcia. It had been about a month since her and Reid were kidnapped. And about a month since Reid kissed Casey.

         "Hey, you know I meant it when I said you should take some time off.  You've just been through a lot." Casey reminded Garcia. "That's like the job description of everybody who works here. 'Must go through a lot.' I'm okay." Garcia assures and hands Casey the tablet. "That just came in."

          Casey furrows her brows as she looks at the file on the screen. "A mummy?" She asks. "Yeah, they found it inside of a wall in a cabin outside Varnville, South Carolina. They think it's really old." Garcia explained.

        "Well, it's not something you see every day, but it sounds more like a cold case." Casey told as she hands the tablet back to Garcia. "That's a no then."

        "Hey, wait a sec. Rossi's still in Savannah, isn't he?" Casey asks and Garcia nods, "Uh-huh. He comes back today." Casey thinks for a moment. "And how far is Varnville from the main highway?"

         Garcia shrugs, "Not far, like 10 miles." She stated and Casey pulls her cell out of her pocket. "Okay.  Well, maybe he can swing by on his way out, take a look, advise local law enforcement on how to proceed. When I get news, I'll have you present it to the team."

          After Rossi had taken a look and realized there had been an insane amount of bodies in every corner of the house, he immediately called Casey and told her they had a case. So, soon after, Casey and Garcia presented the case and they were on the jet, on the way to Varnville.

         "So as far as anyone knows, Karl and Dorothy Elgin lived totally isolated. No kids, no family, no friends." JJ started. "Fifty years? I mean, they had to have some interaction with other people." Luke told.

           Casey had just gotten off the phone with the coroner as she approaches the team. "Five bodies and counting, all young females. Coroner says the victims have been there for a while."

         "Are we looking at a husband and wife killing team here? It's rare, but it does happen." Tara stated. "In England, Rosemary West assisted her husband, Fred in the murder of 12 individuals over a 20-year span without detection." Spencer informed.

        "Dorothy Elgin could be a homegrown version of that... female accommodating the psychopathic urges of the man." Emily stated. "Okay, but why mummify?" JJ wonders aloud. "Forensic countermeasure, maybe?"

         "Hmm, throwing the bodies in a swamp would have been a better forensic countermeasure." Luke said and Tara nodded, "Luke's right. It was a deliberate choice to preserve those corpses, keep the victims close to home."

          "You know, maybe the killer thought he was sending the bodies into the future. Ancient Egyptians believed the souls of the deceased would return from the afterlife to re-inhabit their original bodies, so the human form was kept in tact and recognizable." Spencer told.

          Matt nods, "There's also a literal covering up of the crime here, and that says remorse."

          "Which is why we should figure out whatever the hell this is. Matt, JJ, go to the local sheriff's department, help them prepare for the media frenzy that's coming down the pike. Luke, you, Em and I will meet Rossi at the crime scene. Reid, Tara, go to the nursing home, see if you can talk to Dorothy Elgin. If anyone knows the secrets of that house, it's her."

         When Casey separates the team, Spencer can't help but look at Casey, who can't even be bothered to look at him right now. He noticed she changed her hair color back. (He liked the blonde but brunette suited her better). They hadn't talked since the kiss. And maybe it was better that way. But he still wanted to talk about it. I mean, what did it all mean? He frowned when he realized they weren't even paired up together. I mean, he'd gotten used to it since not being together anymore but this time just felt a little different.

          They had landed and Emily, Luke and Casey drove to the house Rossi was at. It took a minute but they figured out where they were going. The house was practically in the middle of nowhere. When they arrived, they flashed their badges and entered the home.

          "Good. You found it okay." Rossi stated. "Definitely took us a minute." Casey commented. "How many victims are we up to?" Emily asked. "Seven, in the walls and under the floor." Rossi points to the box on the ground. "They found this box filled with knickknacks next to one of the bodies."

Luke shakes his head, "Souvenirs of their victims." Casey points to the box, "We should get descriptions of these items out to the public. It might jog someone's memory."

"Dr. Caldwell," Rossi walks over to a woman. "These are SSAs Willows, Prentiss and Alvez." He introduces. "Dr. Caldwell's with the Charleston coroner's office. She came up to help us out."

"Yeah, local M.E.'s not equipped to handle something like this, so I'm having the remains taken back to our facilities." Caldwell informs. "Do we know how long the bodies have been here?" Emily asks.

"Ballpark, 20 years. Some longer, some shorter." Caldwell stated. "This all seems fairly sophisticated." Luke comments as Casey kneels to look at the bodies to see what they were working with. "It is," Caldwell told. "The internal organs weren't removed as with a true mummification, but the bodies were treated before being wrapped and then salted. That's why there's no discernible odor."

Casey furrows her brows and takes a look at the bodies and stands. "Those look like the teeth of a meth addict." Casey points out.

"These women probably all lived high-risk lifestyles... drug addicts, prostitutes, runaways." Emily told. "Explains why they might vanish for decades and nobody knows or cares." Rossi said.

Caldwell speaks, "Somebody cared. The victims' clothes were mended, carefully sewn, and kept in good repair." He hands Rossi a bag when Caldwell is called, "Dr. Caldwell, you better come look at this!" When she's called the team follows her outside.

More bodies were found outside of the house. Nike bodies in total, now. "These victims don't look as old." Emily points out. Caldwell gets a better look at the bodies. "They aren't. They've been dead less than a year."

"Meaning after Karl died and Dorothy became an invalid." Luke told. "This cold case just got hot. We've got an active unsub." Rossi said and with that, Casey messaged the rest of the team of what they were up against.

━━━━━━

Dorothy had committed suicide before Tara and Spencer could get anything of her. She had a secret that died right along with her until Spencer and Tara found what she was hiding. Letters.

Spencer had showed them the sheriff and Casey as Casey took a look at them. "The victims probably wrote these. We're having forensics expedite the processing of the envelopes." Spencer informed.

"At least now we have names and addresses. Let's see if Garcia can track down the intended recipients." Casey tells as they walk into the conference room. "Why write letters that never even got mailed?" The sheriff questions.

"It could have been a way for Karl and Dorothy to psychologically control their victims, allow them to write letters to loved ones, give them a sense of being in a safe and nurturing environment." Spencer explains to which Casey adds, "Which makes the behavioral profile less sociopathic, oddly enough."

"How come?" The sheriff asks. "To use parental love as a manipulating device means they have an understanding of the importance of family." Spencer explains. "Most sociopaths don't. By definition, they lack the sense of human connectedness the rest of us feel." Casey added.

"The Elgins must have experienced it first hand." When Casey turns to Reid, she can see he's keeping his gaze on her but she immediately turns away. Now was not the time.

"I don't see how they could." The sheriff interjected. "What do you mean?" Casey asked. "Karl and Dorothy didn't have any kids." The sheriff answered. Casey raises a eyebrow. "Was that ever verified?"

"Well, I'd drive out there now and then just to check in on them, and I never saw another soul besides Karl and Dorothy." The sheriff tells and Casey pulls her cell out to call the coroner. "Sheriff, have you ever heard the saying, does a tree falling in an empty forest make a sound?"

Casey leaves the sheriff dumbfounded, but Spencer explains the metaphor to the sheriff. "It's a metaphysical riddle about unperceived existence. The answer's largely dependent on whether you subscribe to substance or bundle theory. In this case, I believe Agent Willows is saying that, yes, the tree does make a sound."

Casey quickly gets an answer from the coroner and she walks back towards the sheriff and Spencer. "Sorry to debunk your theory, sheriff, but the autopsy on Dorothy Elgin reveals at some point in her life she did give birth."

"I'll be damned." The sheriff tells. "With the recent killings, the signature changed. All the feminine aspects went away. What if Dorothy had a son?" Spencer wondered and Casey shrugged, "There's a possibility there. He would have known about the earlier killings, maybe even witnessed them as a child. Probably screwed him up for life and then when the patriarch died, he was there to pick up the torch." Casey explains.

With that, the sheriff walked out of the room to take care of some errands, leaving Casey and Spencer alone in the conference room — which Casey really didn't want right now.

But, of course, Spencer wanted to talk about it. He approaches Casey as she moves over to the opposite end of the table. "So we're not gonna talk about it?" Spencer began and Casey keeps her eyes on the files as she piles them up in a neat fashion. Spencer never known Casey to be this neat before. But little did he know, it was something she picked up after being in jail for two weeks.

"We're not gonna talk about it because there's nothing to talk about, Spencer." Casey tells, clearly irritated. "We kissed, don't you think there should be a conversation about that somewhere?" Spencer stuffs his hands in his pockets as he questions.

Casey finally turns to Spencer and whispers harshly to him. "Not when I pretend the kiss didn't exist. And keep your voice down about it."

Spencer had then closed the door, only keeping himself and Casey in the room. He raises his arms and plops them back down. "Tell me what you think about me." He tells and Casey whirls her head around and questions: "What?"

"Tell me what you think about me. Right now." Spencer repeats and Casey scoffs, "I'm very annoyed by you at the moment, does that meet your requirements?" There's a pause and Casey finally faces Spencer.

"Look... that kiss was a spur of the moment thing. Okay? It didn't mean anything." Casey told, hoping that maybe Spencer would listen. But Spencer being Spencer and still being head over heels for Casey, he didn't. "You still kissed me, that has to mean something."

        Casey shook her head and pointed an accusing finger at him. "Let me correct you on something here. You kissed me. You started that. And I hate you for starting that."

         There's a long pause after that. "Research suggests that 10-15% of couples reconcile after they separate, and about 6% of couples marry each other again after they divorce." Spencer stated and Casey shook her head, "Well, I'm sorry but we're not part of that 6%." Her cell phone rings and she's saved by the bell. "I gotta take this."

         Casey begins to walk out of the room but Spencer turns around, calling her. "Casey."
        "End of conversation." Casey told.
        "Casey—" He tries again.
        "That's an order." Casey stated, pulling her 'unit chief' tone on him as she walks out.

━━━━━━

Another victim by the name of Mary Brewer was missing and now the team was looking for her. The envelopes were indeed from the victims, reaching out to their families that were never sent out. They delivered their profile and Casey and Emily had been trying to uncover just about anything to find this unsub.

Matt walked into the room. "Mary Brewer's husband's on his way in, and we got an APB out on her vehicle right now." He informed. "Media outreach is working." Emily comments. "Now it's just a matter of sorting through which leads are real and which aren't." Casey adds.

"Unfortunately, Garcia's not having much luck with the letters. The intended recipients have either passed away or moved elsewhere." Matt explained.

There's a knock on the doorway and Casey looks up to see the sheriff with a timid woman standing behind him. "Excuse me, Agents. This woman says it's important that she talk to you right now." The sheriff tells and the woman makes it known she's there by stepping closer.

Casey reaches out to shake her hand. "I'm Agent Willows. These are agents Prentiss and Simmons. How can we help you?" Casey wonders.

"Karl and Dorothy Elgin, they didn't have a son." The woman starts. "Okay. And you know this how?" Emily asks. "I grew up in that house. Karl and Dorothy Elgin were my parents." The woman answers.

Well, that's certainly a plot twist. Casey thinks to herself.

Emily settled her down in an interrogation room and had come back to inform Matt and Casey the information she found from Leanne, the current woman in the interrogation room. "Apparently she ran away from home when she was sixteen and never looked back." Emily explains.

"Think she's legit or just somebody looking for their 15 minutes of fame?" Matt asked. "Sheriff said she was able to describe the Elgins' house in detail," Casey shrugged. "It just depends on what we can find out."

The three enter the room and begin to question her. "My mom and dad weren't normal, I always knew that, but they weren't killers." Leanne told.

"Not normal how?" Matt wondered. "It was just them," Leanne answered. "All they ever talked about was getting away from people."

"Is that why you ran away?" Emily asks. "Yeah. I mean, I had no friends, wasn't even allowed to go into town. Towards the end, I'd sneak away at night, hang out with kids my own age." Leanne told.

"And do what?" Matt asked. "Talk, drink beer. What normal teenagers do." Leanne answers. "What made you decide to leave for good?" Casey asks.

Leanne shrugs, "One day, I just opened the door and walked out and never came back. Moved to Georgia, got myself a new life. Married, two kids."

Casey sits forward, "Leanne, were you there when your parents started murdering those girls?" Leanne shakes her head, "That's what I'm trying to tell you. They couldn't have done all the things people are saying. It was somebody else, some other monster." She swears by her statement and with that, the three inform the rest of the team what they've found out.

But they uncover more than that when Tara and Luke find out that Leanne was pregnant when she was younger. And Spencer and JJ uncovered that Leanne's father had murdered Leanne's baby daddy and his parents to get his grandson back after Leanne dropped him off there. Steve Milburn, the boy that got Leanne pregnant, his family had wanted nothing to do with Leanne and her family so she left the boy with them. The Elgins were trying to replace the daughter they'd lost, that's why they were murdering women. And they'd uncovered that their unsub was Leanne's baby she left behind. And now he was murdering people solely because his own grandfather was doing it for his grandmother. And then when his grandfather died, he carried on the legacy.

"So we know who and why but not where." JJ stated and Casey nods, "Well, the unsub wouldn't go far from where he grew up. All of the trauma is rooted there." JJ nods, "Ok, well, letters the victims wrote their loved ones..." Casey furrows her brows, "Yeah, what about them?" She asks.

"Well, several talked about a pond where Karl took them fishing." JJ pauses once she looks at Leanne in the interrogation room and Casey and JJ exchange a glance and get the same idea. "Recreating what he must have done with Leanne." With that, the two women begin to question Leanne.

"Fishing?" Leanne questioned. "In a pond somewhere near your house." JJ nods and Leanne shrugs, "Yeah, I mean, my dad took me fishing when I was little."

"Do you know where it was by any chance? There's no pond on your family's property." Casey tells. Leanne nods, "I know. We had to drive there."

"Which direction?" Casey asks.
"I don't know." Leanne tells.
"How long did it take you to get there?" JJ wonders.
"15 minutes, maybe. It was next to an empty cabin. There was a bridge nearby." Leanne answered.

Casey decides to call Garcia and put her on speaker, "Garcia."
"Hold on. Got it. Sending coordinates now." Garcia answers.

"Rossi and Matt are out at the Elgin crime scene. They're closer than we are. We'll provide backup."

━━━━━━

After Rossi and Matt had saved Mary Brewer and arrested Leanne's son for the murders, the team had been ready to pack up to leave. The sheriff, of course, had questions of his own.

"So all this is because the Elgins' daughter ran off?" He started as they packed files up. "Karl saw the effect it had on his wife, so he went out, found those girls in an attempt to pull Dorothy out of her tailspin." Tara explained. "He surrounded her with substitute Leannes. In the wall, under the floor, basically encircling her." JJ told.

"Hell of a way to do it, I mean, put some pictures up for God's sake." Casey comments.

"And their grandson tried to do the same thing for her once Karl died." Matt added.

"Is this a normal case for you folks?" The sheriff asks and Casey scoffs and chuckles at once when Rossi answers, "None of them are normal." Rossi's cell begins to ring and he picks it up.

The sheriff turns over to Spencer. "Well, Dr. Reid, I can say it was a pleasure talking to you. I'm gonna give that tree in the forest thing some more thought."
"Don't give it too much thought. It's basically an infallible conjecture."
The sheriff gives him a strange look and nods, "Copy that. Well, thanks again." With that, the sheriff leaves.

Rossi looks over at Casey. "Uh, Casey, I need to go to New York for a couple of days. Would that be all right?" He wonders and Casey nods, "Are you kidding? After that detour I had you take from your vacation? Take all the time you want."

After that, the team had flown back to the BAU and Casey was finishing up paperwork of her own. Ever since she became unit chief, there was a million more things she had to do. She finally understood Hotch.

There's a sudden knock on her office door. "Come in." When the door opens, it's revealed to be Spencer and Casey knows she has to face the music sometime. "Hey." Spencer greeted, clutching onto his satchel. "Hi." Casey hesitantly greets.

Spencer holds his hands up, "Don't worry, I'm not here to kiss you again." He tells and when Casey doesn't laugh, he squints, "Too soon?" He wonders. "Little bit." Casey tells and it makes Casey realize just how bad he is with jokes.

"I wanted to apologize." Spencer stated as Casey stood up from her seat. "I'm sorry... about... you know." He can't even say it. Over the course of the case, Spencer had realized just how much of the kiss was his fault. After all, he was the one who initiated it. But in his mind, Casey initiated it right back. Of course, he was confused.

There's a long pause and Casey takes a deep breath. "You have to let me go." She starts and Spencer looks down at the ground. "And you have to let me let you go too. I need you to move on."

"I know. I'm trying." Spencer tells. "I actually told Luke to set me up on a double date with him and Lisa and one of her nurse friends." He reveals. This was true, he actually asked Luke on the way home while everyone else was sleeping.

Casey nods at Spencer, "That's a start. I'm happy for you." Spencer gives Casey a look. He expected at least a little bit of jealousy from Casey — then again, he was more of the jealous type than she was.

Spencer furrows her brows and asks, "How was it so easy for you to move on?" He wonders. "We were married for two years, together for five, what changed?"

Casey thought about her answer carefully before answering it, "Truthfully? I started putting you before me. And how you felt and what you wanted. I felt like I was just... there after a while. And I guess... I wanted to feel like a part of something. But I had to start with myself and what I wanted. And you deserved someone that didn't break like glass. Not while you were shattered too. That's why I did it. And that's why it was so comfortable for me to do it. Because I was doing it for you but I was also doing it for myself. I don't know if that makes sense but..."

Casey finishes off and suddenly, Spencer understands a little bit better and his heart breaks at the realization of how he really did treat her towards the end of their marriage.

"I'm sorry." Spencer practically squeaks and Casey shrugs, "It's okay."

Spencer has no idea what to say next so he begins to walk towards the door. Casey stops him by calling his name and suddenly his hopes are up again, he has to learn how to put them down. He had to forget her like she forgot him.

"Things are okay, right?" Casey asks, crushing Spencer's hopes and he nods, plastering a little smile on his face that Casey knows isn't real. "Yeah."

Casey can't help but give Spencer a sympathetic smile as he walks out and she shakes her head. She believed she was doing the right thing, letting him down easy and slowly. She felt bad but this was the way it had to be.

peep the new gif hehehe
hey lovelies!
listening to "when the party's over" by billie eilish while writing the last part killed me

anywaysssss
so excited for season 14
i have so many plans for this season hehehehe

y'all @ casey & me rn:

I SWEAR THEY'RE GONNA GET BACK TOGETHER I SWEARRRRRR JUST TRUST THE PROCESS🙏

anywaysssss
thank you for reading
i love you all
-mya </333