Blood and Battle | Criminal Minds (gxg)

Chapter 11

TW: mention of arson/burning alive

I stand in the middle of the dorm. The walls and carpet are scorched by flames, bedspreads burned to nothing and a wooden chair now a pile of timber. I pick up a piece of fabric in my gloved hands, bagging the evidence. It's a strip of the shirt Matt was wearing when he was killed. It could help us analyze the chemicals used.

Elle is searching around the doorframe with her hands tracing the edges, recalling how the fire was set. "Our unsub started the fire here in the hall."

"Fire bomb," I say from the middle of the room.

"Yeah, they waited for Matt to open the door, then sprayed him with chemicals and threw the flames at him. Whatever chemicals were used ignited immediately."

"He never had a chance," I say, moving to stand beside her. I look down the hall to see a young guy standing there. When he notices me looking at him, he turns to walk away.

"Hey, kid, hang on a sec," I say jogging up to him. "You live here?" I ask. He looks like a junior or senior, about 20. Dirty blonde hair falling into his eyes, about 5'8, matching my height in my boots. Doesn't have the build of an athlete, and a computer bag is slung over his shoulder.

I sense Elle walking up behind me as he answers. "Yeah. I live right over here." He points to a door just behind us. "Came up to grab a hard drive from my room. I didn't know the FBI was here."

Elle and I share a glance and she takes a step forward. "Were you here the night of the fire?"

"Yeah," he nods. "I was in my room working on some programming for this computer science project."

"Did you see anyone leaving just before or after it happened? Someone who's not normally here?" I ask.

He tilts his head up, thinking. "Um, I don't think so." Then he looks back down the hallway towards Matt's room and I can tell he remembers something. "Wait, actually, there might have been. I opened my door when I heard the screaming and someone walked past me pretty quickly. I didn't get a good look– it was dark and they were wearing all black. But when they walked by they bumped into my shoulder and apologized. And then I realized it was a girl."

"In an all guys dorm?" I ask, raising an eyebrow at Elle. "Did Matt have a girlfriend?"

The kid shakes his head. "No, but Kyle does. But I don't think it was her. She's way taller than me, and the girl I bumped into was about my height."

"Do you know Kyle's girlfriend's name?" Elle asks.

"Uh, Chelsea maybe?"

"Okay, thank you..."

"Brian," he finishes for her.

"Brian. Thanks for your help. You can grab your hard drive, but please stay away from the crime scene." Elle lifts the caution tape up as he ducks under it.

"We'll call Garcia about Kyle's girlfriend, but I don't think it's her," I say to Elle.

"A woman arsonist? Those are rare."

"I know. And what's weirder? She didn't stay to watch. Most arsonists like to enjoy their work," I say. Brian comes back out of his room, locking it behind him. He thanks us and heads off down the hall.

Together, Elle and I make our way back to the elevator.

My phone dings at a message from Hotch. Meet back at base.

I put my phone away and look at Elle. "This case is weird."

"Aren't they all?" she says with a small smile.

I give a sad smile back. "Yeah, good point. But something's just..."

"Off," she finishes for me.

I nod my head as the elevator doors slide open and together we exit the building.

────

We set up in a conference room in the main building of the campus. We're going through the details of the case, all of us reporting from our various assignments.

When it's our turn, I look towards Elle, letting her speak first.

"We found more traces of the chemicals at the dorm," she says. "The unsub lit the fire outside the room, doused Matt with the chemicals, and threw the bottle at his chest."

Elle glances my way and I take a deep breath before speaking. "We also have reason to believe the unsub is a woman."

"What?" Morgan asks.

"Arsonists are almost always men," Hotch reminds us.

"Some studies say as many as 10 to 1 arsonists are male, more commonly about 82% are male." Reid says.

I sigh. "I know it's not the norm. But this case doesn't follow the stereotypes. The witness we spoke to said that the unsub left the scene before the main fire."

"That's odd," Gideon says. "Arsonists are usually sadists, they derive pleasure from watching the destruction they create."

"It's an obsession," Morgan says from across the room.

Elle nods. "But with this unsub, it's also a compulsion."

I exchange glances with Hotch and Elle. "OCD," I say out loud.

"Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. It would explain the seemingly random victimology of Matt and the specific chemicals that were used," Reid agrees.

"Speaking of which– what did the M.E. find?" Hotch asks Spencer.

"Benzene and ethanol, in purely concentrated forms. They would have had to be taken from a science lab," Reid answers.

Hotch nods in Morgan's direction. "Morgan, call Garcia. We need to cross reference women science majors at this college who are either diagnosed or showing symptoms of OCD."

Within ten minutes we have a name and address. Carla Robinson, living in an apartment off campus.

"D'angelo, lead the strike with Morgan and Elle. The rest of us will QB from here."

I nod to Hotch before leaving the room, Morgan and Elle right behind me.