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𝑷 𝑶 𝑽
❝ 𝚒-𝚒 𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚔 𝚒 𝚓𝚞𝚜𝚝 𝚑𝚊𝚍 𝚊 𝚑𝚎𝚊𝚛𝚝 𝚊𝚝𝚝𝚊𝚌𝚔 ❞

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ㅤ"𝐒𝐎, 𝐎𝐔𝐑 𝐅𝐈𝐑𝐒𝐓 𝐏𝐑𝐈𝐌𝐀𝐑𝐘 𝐒𝐔𝐒𝐏𝐄𝐂𝐓 𝐈𝐒 𝐃𝐄𝐀𝐃," Finley sighed, her hands on her hips as she disappointedly looked down at her hotel-provided slippers. She was still wearing a bathrobe on top of her night clothes as she snuck out to JJ and Penelope's room while the others waited for her.

"That was barely even a motive, to be completely honest," Derek closed his eyes, shaking his head.

"Yeah, well, at least we had something," Finley rolled her eyes. "What now?"

"Well, the unsub deviated from her plan, I'd say," Emily pointed out. "We all thought it was going to be Miss Kansas or Miss Arizona, but she ended up killing Miss Louisiana who was at the other end of the floor. Still the same MO though."

"What if it wasn't her plan in the first place?" Finley wondered. "I mean, the room order doesn't even align with the murders from either direction."

Rossi sighed. "She's got a point."

"We don't even know what the motive is yet," Hotch shook his head. "We can't rule out anything."

"What about the organizer that Miss Vermont mentioned?" JJ asked. "Didn't she say that she and Miss Alabama planned on speaking up about Miss Louisiana being in a fight with Miss DC right before she was murdered but one of the organizers advised against it? God, that was a mouthful."

"I don't know which organizer it was, but I'll dig into it tomorrow," Finley gave the blonde a smile before running a hand through her hair. "Apparently we have a conference tomorrow, because some candidates have been protesting and telling the organizers to just postpone the competition until we can find who's responsible."

"That wouldn't be good," Rossi sighed. "The reason why these women were killed was because of the 'deadline', the competition. If they postpone, it's quite possible that there will be more bodies."

Spencer nodded. "We should probably convince the organizers not to postpone it. The women would be put in more danger and it's not something I'd want Finn to get tangled with."

His words made Finley's ears turn a little red. She was fine with just smiling at him and pretending his words didn't affect her, but Penelope Garcia had a big mouth.

"AH! She's blushing!" The redhead squealed, earning a ferocious glare from the brunette. But her words had already processed in the others' minds, and they were quick to send Finley and Spencer teasing looks. The latter ended up turning pink as well, scratching the back of his neck awkwardly, avoiding eye contact with anyone.

"Well, Pretty Girl and Pretty Boy," Derek grinned as he teased the two.

"I hate you all," Finley deadpanned. "So, what's the plan?"

"Dave, you should attend the conference and be the spokesperson for the Bureau," Hotch instructed, crossing his arms. "Try and get them to continue on with the competition. With you and Reid there, plus Morgan and I, there won't be any need to wire Finn. But...you'll need to deliver the profile."

Rossi frowned. "We barely have a profile, Aaron."

"Well, we know that the unsub's meticulous, methodical, and clean, and she's most definitely a woman," Emily spoke up, almost hesitantly. "I'm sure she's got prior knowledge when it comes to pageantry. She prepared the victims as if they were getting ready to compete, staged them wearing their dresses and even put makeup on them."

"I agree," JJ nodded. "But what struck me as odd was the way the unsub did the victims' makeup. Don't you think it's strange that makeup style was...I don't know, tacky? I mean, it just reminded me so much of how I used to do my makeup when I was, like, seven. Bright eyeshadow, overly done blush, and red lips?"

"Makeup done when you were a kid..." Finley thought out loud. "Child pageants?"

Everyone's gazes snapped to hers as their minds started running at a hundred miles per hour.

Hotch turned to Penelope. "Garcia, pull up the list of all the potential unsubs and see if any of them competed in pageants as a child."

Nodding, the tech analyst did as he asked, the clacking of the keyboard filling up the silence of the room. "That cuts the list down to about a half. Anything more I can use to cut this down even more? Because there's still seventy-eight names."

"You know, there's a lot of negative effects that being exposed to pageantry can do to a child, especially since pageants are hyper-focused on their appearance and how it can be perceived by other people," Spencer rambled, the others turning to him. "Pageants suggest to children that their physical appearance holds more value than anything else, and that how others judge them are more important than how they judge themselves. This leads to serious body-image distortions, and oftentimes, adults who went through this sort of thing, ends up with long-term self-esteem issues, poor body image, which can lead to depression, anxiety, and eating disorders."

"Most of them also end up being perfectionists, which is what our unsub is," Emily noted. "She's probably controlling and would appear a little entitled, because if you've won enough pageants as a kid, you'd think that you're untouchable and superior."

"So she's got a superiority complex with underlying mental health disorders," Derek raised his eyebrows. "That doesn't narrow it down, though."

Finley let out an exasperated sigh as she began pacing. "Okay, what about the dresses? I mean, the unsub knew which dress specifically the victim would be wearing for the preliminaries, which I find particularly strange considering the only people who should know about the dresses are either members of their teams...or the organizers."

"This is definitely pointing more and more towards someone with authority," Rossi said. "That one organizer they were talking about is just climbing up the ranks of potential unsubs."

"According to her victim pool, I'd say the unsub's a white woman, but right now the age is a little difficult to determine," Hotch frowned. "Her attention to detail and cleanliness suggests she could be in her late 30s to...middle aged."

"Well, at least we've got enough for a profile," Derek pointed out, shrugging a little. He then glanced at the clock. "We can still get a few hours of sleep."

"Right," Hotch nodded. "I'll see you all tomorrow."

"Wait, Hotch," Finley called after him before he could walk out the door. "Can I ask, have the details of the case been revealed to the public?"

"Only the identities of the victims, not about the unsub's ritual," he replied. "Why?"

"Well, if a person ends up knowing more than they should, it calls for some amount of suspicion."

The next day, Finley found herself sitting in between Carlie, Miss Delaware, and Gianna, Miss Florida. As much as she wanted to have been sat next to Rachel and Chelsea, they were all told to sit in alphabetical order according to the state they represented. Thankfully, Carlie and Gianna were just as nice.

She was wearing another Inaul-style dress, only this time, it was a wrap dress, complete with a thin belt around her waist that showed off her waist. Her hair was up in a tight, high ponytail, while wearing dangling earrings. Her makeup was done naturally, and to finish it off, she wore another pair of four-inch heels, this time, in a shade of brown.

"Hey, Catriona," Carlie greeted, smiling softly. The organizers, the higher-ups, finally announced their decision not to postpone the competition. And when they were met with protests, Rossi's speech and delivery of the profile had most of them changing their minds. And now, the girls were using the spare time to mingle, and hopefully find someone that fitted the profile. "I didn't see you last night."

"Last night? What do you mean?" Finley frowned, scanning the crowd a little as Rossi and Reid went from group of girls to another as they questioned if they knew someone like what the profile described. She turned her gaze back to the two.

Gianna answered for her. "The FBI came and questioned us last night, don't you remember?"

"Oh, that, right," she nodded. "I-I was questioned too, you probably just didn't see me. They questioned a lot of people, everyone, really."

"That's true," Gianna agreed. "Hey, uh, do you know anything about what happened? I mean, you probably know a little more considering you had to...step in for Pia."

Finley shrugged. "I was only told that I was gonna compete instead of her, and I only found out why when I came here. Rachel and Chelsea had to tell me what happened, so you guys actually know more than me."

Gianna only sighed disappointedly. "Well, now we've got four dead bodies and the committee still wants to go through with it. I mean, how many more dead bodies do they want before they close this thing?"

"Gi, you know it would probably be better if they don't postpone," Carlie shook her head. "I mean, think about it, the killer's killing us because he's got the time to do it. If the committee postpones, we're only giving him more time. Agent Rossi's right."

"You think it's a guy that's doing this?" Finley asked her.

"I mean, it has to be, right?"

"Wait, actually, I may have...eavesdropped a little when they were discussing the scene," Gianna sheepishly admitted, not noticing how Finley narrowed her eyes a little, before continuing, "and uh, well, I heard that the killer put makeup on them. So I think the killer's a girl. I'm not judging though, it could still be a guy, but you know, it's--"

"We get it," Carlie laughed. "But seriously, who the hell would even do this? And why? Especially since it's like, a public event and all. There are so many eyes on us yet this random person was still able to kill four people."

"You think it could be one of us?" Finley curiously asked, eyes trained on Miss Florida.

Gianna scoffed. "I mean, sure, we're all competitive here, we've all worked hard to get where we are, but enough to murder someone? Pfft."

"I think it's one of the judges," Carlie declared, shrugging a little.

"Hmm, what makes you say that?"

"I honestly don't know," she grimaced. "Maybe it's one of them. They could be rooting for someone, or cheating for someone in the competition. They could be trying to manipulate results but couldn't do much so they resulted into murder."

"Do people actually murder for dumb reasons?" Gianna rolled her eyes.

"What about the organizers?" Finley asked, looking at the two of them individually, face innocent and curious. "I mean, one of them could be...passionate about pageantry too. I mean, you heard what Agent Rossi said--"

Rossi chose that as the perfect time to join their little group.

"Good afternoon, ladies," he charmingly greeted, equally giving them a kind smile. He then gestured to Reid, who awkwardly gave them a smile while trying not to ogle at Finley who was now an inch taller than him. He couldn't deny how attracted he was at the sight. "This is my assistant, Reid. Now, would you be so kind to answer a few questions?"

After sharing a look with the other two, Carlie answered, "Of course."

"Alright," he nodded, whipping out his little notepad, pen at the ready. "Do any of you know someone that fit the profile pretty accurately?"

Gianna hummed. "There's a lot of people that sound pretty much like your profile."

"That's actually what the other women have been saying," Rossi nodded. "But is there anyone specific? Someone that immediately came to mind once I delivered the profile?"

"Well, there are about four people that fit it somewhat to a T," Carlie sighed. "There's Lana Jacobs, Priscilla Kane...what's her name again? One of the judges...Hailey something. And uh, Laurie Wilson."

"And what do they do for the competition?"

"Hailey's a judge and the others are organizers. Lana and Priscilla mostly the ones that deal with the actual event, like, the decorations and such," she shrugged. "Laurie, however, is one of the stage managers. She's always somehow with us candidates though. And she's kinda strange, always giving us advice, which is fine, but she's also always going off on a tangent about how child pageantry is...harder."

"Oh, yeah, I heard Rachel talking about her yesterday!" Gianna agreed.

"Well, thank you ladies, and good luck with the preliminaries tomorrow," Rossi gave them each a kind smile before nodding at Spencer, who gave them all a wave in goodbye.

Gianna nudged Finley. "That Reid guy was totally into you."

Finley could only sigh.

Finally, the preliminary competition has begun.

The team were all scattered around the stage; Rossi and Spencer were close to the stage, near the judges; Emily and JJ were seated a few rows behind the two; Hotch and Derek were with the other guards, positioned near the entrance; and finally Penelope was back in her hotel room, watching the event through the CCTV's. All of them were connected to each other through their communication devices, all except Finley, who was backstage.

"How many names are still on the list?" Hotch asked Penelope while looking at Derek as if they were talking with each other.

The clacking of Penelope's keyboard was loud, even through the comms. "There's still a lot. I made sure to pay extra attention to the common names that the girls mentioned, and but unless someone gives me more parameters...there's nothing much I can do, sir."

"Do we remove the judges from the list? Because Finn's right, none of them should know about the dresses, that defeats the purpose of them judging during the event," Emily pointed out while looking at JJ.

"There's only six judges and only one that was mentioned during the conference so I've only removed five," Penelope informed them.

"Remove all the people of color, the unsub's gotta be white," Derek said.

"Okay, we're left with forty-two names, go on."

"30s to late 40s," Hotch decided. "How many left?"

"Fourteen." The smile was obvious in the way she spoke, which made the others smile as well.

"Woman, you are good," Derek told her, smirking.

"Don't I know it."

"Guys, it's starting," Rossi announced, looking up at the stage. "Finley's gonna be the ninth candidate, they're all going out alphabetically."

"Spence, you ready?" JJ teased, chuckling a little while sharing amused smiles with Emily.

"Ten bucks says he faints," Derek joked.

"You guys are so annoying," Spencer grumbled.

One by one, the candidates began walking out of the backstage area, starting with Miss Alabama. Cheers rang through the room as she strutted down the catwalk while donning a bright yellow one-piece swimsuit. She smiled at the crowd as she walked. Towards the end of the line, she posed, paying attention to the camera, before walking away to let Miss Alaska have her turn.

Spencer's hands were sweating profusely and his leg was bouncing as he waited for Finley to walk out. He as wiping his hands on his trousers nervously, and of course, Rossi noticed.

"I think you might be more nervous than her," Rossi commented, glancing down at the younger man's uncontrollably fidgeting leg. He looked up just in time to see him gulping. "Reid, calm down," he chuckled.

The puppy-eyed man can only give Rossi a hesitant smile, before looking up at the stage, and finally spotting Finley, who was wearing a bright pink swimsuit and four-inch heels. He gaped.

Finley confidently strutted down the catwalk, looking side to side as she smiled at the crowd. Unexpectedly, she twirled midway through, in slow motion, prompting loud applause from the spectators. 

As soon as she reached the end, she turned around and posed again, grinning widely at the cheers. 

She soon turned and gave way to Miss Florida. Right as she passed by Spencer, she smiled amusedly at his expression, before she disappeared backstage. 

"Holy cannoli," Penelope said under her breath, but of course, the others heard her. "That slow-mo turn, wow, she's the main character." But she was only met with silence. "Are you...are you guys still there?"

Derek cleared his throat. "Yeah, yeah, Hotch and I are here," he glanced at his boss whose eyebrows were raised in surprise. "We're good."

"Dio mio," Rossi huffed, clutching his chest a little. "Wow."

"I-Is Spencer okay?" Emily hesitantly asked, running her hand through her hair while sharing a look with JJ who was in a similar state of shock. "'Cause I'm not."

But it was still silent.

Rossi glanced at the man beside him in concern. "Reid...are you still breathing?"

Spencer finally closed his mouth. "N-No, I-I think I just had a heart attack," the way his voice cracked made everyone laugh.

The Italian man chuckled. "I cannot wait until Finley comes out again." He patted the boy genius on the back as he looked back at the stage.

"Wow," Spencer huffed, clutching his chest. The beating of his heart just felt loud, and he could practically hear it in his ears. He took a few deep breaths in an attempt to calm himself down. "Wow."

author's note: writing this took so long omg

i had to really beef up the profile lmfaooo i literally had to do research and shit, wow. 

hehehehehehe how was the team's reaction to finn?? did i do it justice??? :p

i hope you guys are loving this little case i made up just as much as i do!! it takes so long to write and publish though because i really need to polish it and make it all plausible, but i hope the wait is worth it!!

no easter eggs :>

please point out any spelling/grammatical mistakes if there are any, and thank you guys so so so so much for 15k reads and 1k votes!!!