Verecund (Criminal Minds)

Chapter 10

Spencer led Ash outside and sat on his desk, surrounded by his coworkers. The rest of the team looked at Ash, all greeting her and waving to her, but understanding that she needed some personal space.

"Here, kid, you drink coffee?" Derek held out a disposable cup of black coffee to Ash, filled with the dark liquid.

Ash nodded and gave a small smile to Derek, making a sign to him as she slowly to the cup from Derek's outstretched hand. The agent looked to Spencer for translation as the young doctor sat on his desk, exposing his unmatched socks as his feet dangled slightly off the carpeted ground. "It's the casual form of 'thank you.' There's also the formal thank you." The doctor made a small sign to demonstrate to Derek.

"Oh, okay," Derek said with a grin at Ash, nodding. "So how do you say you're welcome?"

Ash hooked her open hand and made a small motion from where her hand was near her chest. Derek grinned and nodded, copying her. "All right, cool."

Ash leaned against Spencer's desk with a small smile, and Spencer could see the girl starting to come out of her shell- it was very slowly, but much better than it was before.

I could teach sign language if you wanted, Ash signed to the group.

"She said she could teach you sign language if you wanted her to," Spencer said with a smile at Derek.

Derek nodded, still grinning as he sat cross-legged on his desk. "All right, that sounds great."

Ash gave a small smile, signing something out. "Lesson one," Spencer translated. Ash held up a middle finger towards Derek.

The group of FBI agents laughed. "Hey, hey, c'mon now," Derek protested with a laugh, "What did I ever do to you?"

Spencer normally would find jokes like that stupid and typically would just let the others laugh at it, but he was glad to see Ash opening up and starting to communicate- even if it wasn't verbally. He liked to watch as the young girl gave a silent laugh into her coffee as she leaned farther against the desk.

"Hey, we have a new case," everyone turned to see Hotch leaning over the railing in front of his desk. "Briefing in five. Ash participates, too."

The team began standing up, following each other into the briefing room. "Has her minor consultant application been approved already?" Morgan asked Reid.

"No, she can't legally go with us. He might just be having her sit in on the briefing. She'll most likely have to stay here in the building during the case."

The team sat down, and Morgan pulled up an extra computer chair to the wide round table for Ash to sit between JJ and Spencer. "All right, team," Penelope stood in the front of the room, wearing bright colours and plastic orange slices around her neck on a necklace. Ash watched, intrigued by the peppy neon woman. "We are heading to Vegas, and not to party."

The woman clicked a button on her remote, and photos of bodies of two different people appeared, bloody and limp on the floor. "In Bally's Casino, two bodies were found to have fallen down the stairs, with security cameras in the area shut down. Autopsy reports showed they were thrown down the stairs after their death, but killed by alcohol poisoning."

"If it's alcohol poisoning, can't this just lead to chain suicides?" Emily offered, "One drinks to death and falls down the stairs, so the other does, too?"

"But then explain the security cameras," Derek countered, "If all the cameras except in that area were working, then we should be looking at it being a homicide."

"Also, I looked into the histories and records of these two," Penelope began again, "Alice Salvador has made a few trips to casinos in her life, but not many. She's never had any diagnosed or posted problems with drinking. Our second victim, James Shandle, has never, and I mean ever been to a casino or even a bar according to his records and his family's. And through all of their records and social medias, they never knew each other."

"Then maybe the unsub is forcing them to drink," JJ suggested.

"Or injecting it into their systems," Spencer added, "It's much quicker and more fatal."

"All right," Hotch nodded, "Ash, you are not yet cleared to enter the field as a consultant. You'll stay here under the watch of Penelope Garcia," the team leader beckoned his head towards the colourful woman behind him. "She might have you help her."

Ash nodded her head in understanding, keeping her legs crossed on the chair as she watched the BAU team's movements.

"Everyone else, wheels up in thirty."