Erasmus wrote,

"What else is the whole life of mortals but a sort of comedy, in which the various actors, disguised by various costumes and masks, walk on, and plays each one his part until the manager waves them off the stage?"

The agents who passed Parker and Spencer looked behind or at them in confusion - especially when they handed the others candy and wished them a happy Halloween.

The strangest thing about the couple, however, was their costumes. Spencer had a Frankenstein's monster mask and a fake rope around his neck. Parker wore a wig with very long black hair and some kind of white nightgown over their normal clothes.

The couple stepped through the glass door and snuck up on Derek.

"We're going to eat you."

Derek jumped in shock.

"Reid! Parker!"

"Happy All Hallows' Eve, folks," wished Spencer, Derek and Emily.

The young man pulled his mask off his face.

"To paraphrase from Celtic mythology, tomorrow night, all order is suspended, and the barriers between the natural and the supernatural are temporarily removed."

Spencer reached into his bag, pulled out a plastic shrunken head and tossed it to Emily. 

"See, that right there is why Halloween creeps me out."

"You're scared of Halloween?" Parker giggled.

"I didn't say I was scared, I said I was creeped out. There's a difference there, youngster. You should look it up."

"What creeps you out about it?"

"I don't know, people wearing masks. I don't like folks in disguises," explained Derek.

"That's the best thing about Halloween. You can be anyone you want to be," Spencer pointed out and Parker nodded in confirmation.

"No, I'm pretty good just being me."

"Yeah, why is it that neither of those points of view surprise me?"

"You know what, though? On the flip side, it provides a pretty good reason to cozy up with a scary flick and a little Halloween honey."

"Ew! Halloween honey? Now I'm creeped out."

"Same Emily, same," Parker murmured. 

"Guys, he's here," Spencer whispered.

He looked at the glass door, the team followed his gaze.

Chief Strauss led David Rossi, the David Rossi, through the bullpen to Hotch's office.

As the two walked past the profilers, Spencer and Parker pulled off their masks and wig.

~~

A short time later, Hotch and Rossi left the Unit Chief's office and joined the others.

"SSA David Rossi, this is SSA Emily Prentiss," Hotch introduced the two agents.

"Sir."

"SSA Derek Morgan."

"It's an honor, Agent Rossi."

"Please, just Dave."

"Agent Parker Gallagher."

Parker shook hands with the older agent.

"Sir, it's great to meet you."

"And Dr Spencer Reid."

"Sir, if I could talk to you later about your work with the Scarsdale Skinner? Psycholinguistics is an incredibly dynamic field, and the fact that your profile of his reading habits ultimately led to his capture is something I find so incredibly–"

"Reid, slow down," Hotch interrupted the young genius. "He'll be here for a while. Catch up with him later."

"Right. Sorry."

"No problem, Doctor," Agent Rossi assured.

"Maybe you guys can talk on the jet," Parker suggested.

"Oh, yeah, that'd be great."

"The jet?" Agent Rossi asked.

"We have a jet now," Hotch explained.

"Are you serious?"

"Yeah. Comes in pretty handy. Come on, JJ's waiting."

Hotch led the way, followed by Rossi, Emily and Derek.

Spencer placed his fake rope on his desk before he and Parker followed the others.

~~

The profilers had barely entered the room before the meeting began.

"Carrollton, Texas is a suburb just outside of Dallas. Four days ago, Michelle Colucci found this flyer on her front door." 

The flyer consisted of a photo of a woman with the words 'HAVE YOU SEEN ME?'

"She found it?"

"Meaning she wasn't actually missing."

"Yet," JJ replied. "She took the flyer to a friend's husband, Detective Yarbrough at the Carrollton PD, who told her it was probably just a Halloween prank, and he sent her home."

"Well, I don't blame him. Halloween brings out the fool in everyone," said Derek

"Still, he stopped by Michelle's house later to check on her. The door was open and when he went inside, he found this–"

The red-painted walls in the hallway of the house were covered in missing posters.

"Still thought maybe it could be some kind of a prank, until yesterday."

"Michelle was found floating in a small creek just outside of Carrollton. She had been sexually assaulted. And her face had been removed."

"Removed? It wasn't animals or fish?" Agent Rossi wanted to know.

"The Dallas County M.E. said the edges of the wounds were smooth, not torn. A very sharp instrument had been used. He also found water in her lungs."

The blonde agent had just finished her sentence when the door to the meeting room opened, and Garcia stood in the doorway. 

The technical analyst put the file in front of her face so that she didn't have to see the image of the woman's face on the screen.

"Oh, my God! What is that?"

"Technical Analyst Penelope Garcia, this is SSA David Rossi," Hotch introduced the two.

"Is it gone, JJ?"

The blonde woman pressed ahead on the remote and the victim's sink appeared on the screen. 

"Yeah. You're safe," she assured and sat down at the table with the others.

"Okay. Just to– Carrollton, Texas has nearly 117,000 residents. A diverse population with a... Well, it's all in there. I'm sorry–"

Then she turned to Agent Rossi and shook his hand.

"Very happy to meet you, sir."

"I'll be in my office," Garcia apologized before walking out of the room.

After a few steps she realized that she had forgotten something.

"Door. Sorry."

"She's different," Agent Rossi commented as Garcia closed the door behind him.

"You have no idea."

"So, the UnSub tells her she's going to go missing to psychologically torture her, then tortures her physically," Emily changed the subject again. "Textbook sadist."

"A sophisticated one. That's elaborate."

"Number one," Derek muttered.

The profiler looked at the picture of the mask found at the crime scene. This was completely white and 'One' was written on the forehead in red letters.

"That particular mask is known as a false face. It's most commonly worn during Halloween and Mardi Gras," explained Parker.

"Creepy. I rest my case."

"False face."

"Her face? He mocks it, then destroys it?"

"Oh, and, Hotch, local media got the story. It broke big," JJ reported.

"Tell Carrollton we'll be there first thing in the morning. Let's stop this one at one."

"Yes, sir."

Parker and the others grabbed their files and stood up.

"If you want to take some time to get situated, maybe start on the next case?" Hotch addressed Rossi.

"I'm not back to get settled, Hotch. I'm here to work."

"Everybody get your things together. We're going to Texas."

~~~~

The team met at the jet.

"Let's go over victimology," Hotch began. "Would you like to join us, Dave?"

Agent Rossi got up from the seat that was a little further away from the others and sat down.

"Reid, what have you got?" asked Hotch.

"Michelle Colucci was single, lived alone. No boyfriend and no ex-husband."

"She was an architect, friends and co-workers says she's a classic workaholic. Basically a loner who rarely went out of the house." 

Out of the corner of their eye, Parker saw Agent Rossi take a small notebook out of his jacket pocket and write something down.

"So, she's extremely low-risk. If it wasn't someone she knew personally, it's possible she was being stalked."

"Interesting," Agent Rossi muttered.

"What's that?"

"Oh, I'm just thinking out loud."

"Something to add?" Hotch asked.

"No. Sorry to interrupt."

"You don't," Parker assured. "It's a brainstorming. Every one of us explains their ideas, so it's easier to think outside the box."

Parker gave him a small smile and Rossi nodded.

"Well, she's pretty. Could be that the UnSub met her casually and made her a part of some kind of fantasy," Derek suggested.

"And he tries to act on it and she rejects him?"

"So he tortures her. Out of anger?"

"Masks often represent a state of mind. This one's blank, expressionless. Doesn't really coincide with anger."

"Reid, it's hard to imagine he did this out of anything less than rage," said Derek, holding up the photo of the victim.

"Hey, guys," Garcia said from the laptop screen.

"What's up? You got something for us?"

"A list of Michelle Colucci's clients. She designed office space. Mostly big corporate remodeling plans," reported the technical analyst.

"No private clients? One-on-one contact?"

"Doesn't look like it. No."

"Thanks, baby girl," Derek ended the conversation and the video call.

~~~~  

The profilers didn't have time to set up at the police station. Because another flyer had appeared, which meant that a second woman was missing. Her name is Enid White and never came home after walking her dog last night.

JJ and Hotch immediately went to talk to Enid's roommate. Derek and Emily went to Michelle Colucci's (the first victims) house. And Parker, Spencer and Agent Rossi went to the disposal side.

"We went over this area pretty thoroughly," reported Detective Yarbrough as he led the three profilers through the forest. "There's no evidence left."

"I just want to stand where she was," said Agent Rossi. "Agent Gallagher, Dr. Reid, do we still keep all the old files in the fourth-floor storeroom?"

"I think some are up there. Most of our information's on computers now," Parker replied.

"Right."

"Have you had a chance to go through any of our data since you've been back?" asked Spencer.

"Not yet."

"Oh, you'll be amazed. The original team, I mean, you, interviewed something like 45 serial killers, right?"

"Something like."

"Today we have interviews with over 1,000 offenders. Serial killers, child abductors, sex offenders. I'll go through it with you sometime if you'd like. Answer any questions–"

"Sounds good."

The detective stopped and said: "Michelle's body was found right here. I really thought it was a prank."

"You can't really blame yourself for that."

"He's right. Detective, you had no evidence to believe that she was in immediate danger."

"She made herself dinner," the man replied simply.

"Excuse me?"

"She had time to make herself dinner. That means she was home for a while before he... There was time to help her."

"Water. Obliterates a body, destroys evidence," Agent Rossi muttered, stepping closer to the shore.

Then he stood on a tree trunk that rose just above the surface of the water and looked down at the water.

"But you weren't in the water that long, were you, Michelle?"

"She had rocks tied to her to weigh her down," Detective Yarbrough reported.

"She floated to the surface before there was any other damage."

"Just what was done to her already."

"The salient point is it was the first thing the UnSub wasn't good at."

"Green River dumped most of the bodies in water. But they weren't weighed down."

"Well, yeah. We know now it's because he didn't care if they were found. He had no connection to them."

"So, the UnSub knows the victims?"

~~

As agreed, the team met again at the police station after an hour.

"We got anything?" Hotch wanted to know.

"Agent Rossi pointed out that since the victims are weighted down, it suggests the UnSub didn't want them found, which suggests some sort of connection between them," explained Spencer.

"Detective, how long was Michelle missing?"

"She was found on the fourth day."

"So, if she wasn't in the water long, then he held her for three–"

Hotch was interrupted by Parker's phone ringtone. 

Parker immediately saw that it was Garcia and put it on speaker.

"Penny?"

"I've been running all of Enid White's credit cards. She made a purchase at 9:00 a.m. this morning, at a sporting goods store in Dallas," the technical analyst reported.

"This morning? What did she buy?"

"A shotgun."

"Thanks."

"She can buy a gun that easily?" Parker wanted to know, irritated.

"This is Texas," the detective replied simply.

"There's no license or waiting period for most rifles or shotguns."

"Is there video surveillance of gun sales in sporting goods stores?" Hotch addressed Detective Yarbrough.

"There's supposed to be."

"JJ, call the store. Find out if it was Enid or the UnSub using her credit card."

"Right away."

The agent stood up and stepped away from the others.

"Detective Yarbrough?" one of the officers spoke to him. "There's an urgent call from a woman on 1."

The detective tapped his phone.

"Detective Yarbrough."

"My name is Enid White," said a woman on the phone.

"Where are you, Enid?" the detective asked immediately.

"The news report said that the police didn't believe that other woman when she saw the missing flyers."

So, she hid before the UnSub could grab her.

"That was a mistake, Enid."

"I have a gun. I don't think I can stay awake very much longer."

"Enid, this is Agent Hotchner of the FBI. We believe you, and we want to help you. Can you tell us where you are?"

"El Royale Motel in Dallas. It's Room 6. I saw the flyers. Hurry, please. He's going to kill me."

"Don't move, Enid. We're on our way," assured Detective Yarbrough. 

And despite not wasting a second of time, they were too late. The Unsub abducted Enid White.

~~~~

With the new clues, the team was able to present the profile.

"He's a white male. His shoe prints have been examined, and put him at about 5'11'', 165," Derek began.

"So, we've narrowed it down to anyone of average weight and height?"

"Exactly."

"There's a sophistication and patience in what this UnSub does that suggests a level of maturity. We believe this puts his age in the mid-30s to 40s range," Emily added.

"Michelle Colucci was taken from the primary crime scene and disposed of at the tertiary crime scene four days later. That means she was held somewhere for at least three days. You can't really just hold a victim anywhere for days on end, so he most likely has access to a house of some kind."

"And he's also fairly tech savvy. The flyers were made on a computer, and it's probable that he used a device to intercept Enid White's phone call."

"Witnesses in Enid White's neighborhood say they may have seen a white man putting up flyers, but none of them could describe him, even with all the media attention this case has received."

"Great," murmured one of the detectives.

"Actually, what that tells us is that there is absolutely nothing remarkable about this man. He is exceedingly average," said Parker. "As you said, Detective Yarbrough, average height, average build."

"It extends to his professional life as well. He most likely works in a field where he doesn't stand out. Doesn't really make a mark."

"His lack of distinction is part of his psychopathy. We have hundreds of interactions with people every day. Most of those involve someone overlooking someone else. Most of us don't pay any attention to being ignored. But, to this kind of UnSub , every oversight is intentional. Especially when it comes from the object of his sexual desire. He begins to obsess over her until she's all he can think about.

"So, he's pissed off that nobody notices him?"

"'Have You Seen Me?'" Derek said simply.

"Wait, that's not about the women?"

"No, the masks are about the women," Parker explained. "Number one, number two. The flyers probably refer to– to him–"

The young adult's vision suddenly went black 

"Parker, wha–"

– And Parker collapsed without a warning.

~~

When Parker woke up, they were lying in a hospital bed. 

"Spence?" Parker murmured and opened their eyes. 

The young genius sat up in his chair.

"Hey, how are you feeling?"

"Better. I think," Parker replied. "What happened?"

"You do not remember?"

The young agent shook their head and Spencer told his better half what happened

That Parker just passed out and that they were taken to the hospital afterwards. 

Also, how Parker's mother wanted to get on the next plane so as not to leave them alone. But Spencer was able to stop her and promised to contact her immediately if anything changed.

After a while a doctor came into the room and explained that they needed to do a few more tests. 

It was nothing alarming and they just want to make sure everything was okay.

Spencer, understandably, didn't like that at all. 

Why did they still have to do tests if everything was supposed to be fine?

And so Parker spent an hour calming Spencer down and after more tests were done, they asked Spencer to read something, and the young genius didn't hesitate for a second. 

It took maybe half an hour until Spencer was lying on his upper body on the bed and sleeping.

Parker pulled the book from under his face, put it aside, and then lightly tapped the back of his right hand four times.

Shortly afterwards there was a knock on the door. 

"Hey, visiting hours are already over. What are you doing here?" Parker asked Hotch and Rossi, who were standing in the doorway.

"We're on the way to the airport and wanted to check on you," Hotch replied. "And as FBI agents, we are allowed to come by after visiting hours." 

"Wait, airport? You solved the case?" asked Parker.

Hotch nodded. 

"The UnSub's dead but we found Enid White alive."

"That's good," Parker muttered and then addressed Agent Rossi. "I probably made a terrible first impression. Passing out in the middle of a case–"

"Of course not. Don't worry about that," Agent Rossi assured. 

"We wanted to give you this too," Hotch changed the subject.

The Unit Chief handed the young agent a 'get well' card signed by the BAU. 

"Thank you, that's really nice," said Parker with a smile.

"We should go. The others are waiting. Let me know if there's anything new. And get better soon."

Parker nodded. The others didn't have to worry. 

"Pinky promise," the young adult assured, waving to their colleagues as they left the room.