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What A Tangled Web We Weave

Chapter Twenty-Nine

"What about Parker Lansing?"

Raising one eyebrow, Emily nodded slowly as she pondered that name. "Now, he's one I'd say we definitely need to look more closely at."

Pausing with his pen poised over his notebook, Dave glanced up at her, the tone of her voice signaling that there was far more to the story. "Okay, shoot. Tell me what we don't know," he invited.

"He was off his rocker even in high school," Emily replied slowly, shifting as she made herself more comfortable. "I don't have any personal experience with him but the rumors ran wild about him. Everything from cheating on exams to roughing up his girlfriends. He bears an intensive screening from Garcia," she said, nodding at the pad in his hand.

Nodding, Dave made the requisite note before prodding in his patented way. "Next we have David Gregory. Any memories?"

"Not really," Emily replied with a shake of her head, pursing her lips. "He was kinda quiet and soft spoken. If he was there, I believe it was at someone else's coaxing. Or maybe because it's what his father expected from him. He seemed like the type that could be easily manipulated."

Making another notation, Dave said, "John Ralston?"

"Asshole," Emily replied succinctly, the observation coming quickly and without remorse. Seeing Dave raise an eyebrow, she sighed. "Our mothers are both ambassadors. He liked to wield his power and influence, lording it over anyone – which was pretty much everyone – that he could. I didn't. Massively different styles."

"I see," Dave replied evenly, merely arching one brow as he watched her eyes flash.

"Plus, he had a habit of treating women like possessions. Oh, he wanted the very prettiest, most desirable girls, but he was clearly in control of his relationships. They were Stepford girlfriends. And the moment that they showed any sign of independence, they were gone."

"So, he goes on the list," Dave commented.

"Most definitely," Emily agreed as she frowned. "The top of the list. He fits the profile."

"Evan Chambers?" Dave asked, lifting his eyes from his notes.

Touching the tip of her tongue to her upper lip, Emily tilted her head. "Evan is the surprise here, Dave. We were friends, of a sort. I mean, not go to the movies, hold my hand type of buddies, but more 'Can I borrow your psychology notes?' friends. I can't believe he was even there. If he's the unsub, he seriously had a lot of people, including me, fooled."

"Emily, not only did he seem to be there, he looked like he was enjoying the festivities," Dave pointed out grimly. "What was his backstory?"

"Evan was a trust fund baby, but not conceited about it. His father died in a plane crash when Evan was four. He came into his inheritance when he was eighteen, though, which was a good thing considering that his mother liked to exert a huge amount of control over him. Mostly because she could, and partly because she wanted to guide his career. He was supposed to go into politics, but he wanted to study the soft sciences. You know, psychology, sociology. I think they split the difference and he went into law."

"Did he hate his mother's pressures?"

"Not that I can remember. I think he was more wary of her than anything else. He knew she held the purse strings and it wasn't until his birthday and a visit from the family attorney at school that he knew any differently. I remember that he was so happy that day. We were eating lunch when he walked into the cafeteria and announced he was free from his mother."

"We profiled this guy with an unhealthy attachment to his mother. That doesn't fit."

"Maybe not," Emily replied with a shrug. "But his withdrawn, shy nature does. And you saw the look on his face during the animal sacrifice. That was near ecstasy, Rossi. It can't hurt to check him out now. Hell, it can't hurt to check all of them out. They'd each have to have a few screws loose to show up to this thing," Emily noted with a nod to the computer.

"I can't argue that," Dave conceded. "I'm going to call these names in to Garcia. Do you feel up to looking at the videos for the years prior and directly following your graduation year?"

Nodding, Emily swallowed. It wasn't something she was particularly looking forward to, but time and necessity made it unavoidable. This killer wasn't going to walk into a police station and confess.

On the contrary, he was determined to lead them on a merry chase every fucking step of the way. He wasn't going to stop killing. He couldn't. His compulsive need to torture and destroy was a drive he couldn't ignore or deny. And she knew that somewhere on his list, she was a target. She could feel it deep in her soul. And while she'd done things that she was sorry for…committed acts for which she needed forgiveness…she did not deserve this.

No one did.

"Sounds like a plan," she forced herself to agree.

Standing beside the bed, Dave looked at his cell phone. "I've got no bars in here. I'm gonna step outside for better reception. You'll be okay until I get back?"

Smiling ruefully, Emily nodded. "Just peachy."

"Two minutes," Dave muttered, already dialing his phone as he walked toward the door.

Waiting until he'd closed it behind him, Emily exhaled a shaky breath and glared at the computer on the bed. Damn it, why the hell couldn't she convince her body and mind to act like the professional she was? She'd been threatened before this case. She'd certainly seen her fair share of danger. She'd faced down some of the worst psychopaths society had to offer. She'd definitely seen worse corpses than the ones she'd been faced with in the past few days.

So, why in the hell was she terrified?

Oh, she'd do her best not to allow it to show to her friends. Her showing any emotion at all would produce a freakfest the likes of which the BAU had ever seen. She felt sure of that. But continuing to keep a lid on that fear, especially around seasoned pros like Rossi and Hotch, was becoming almost impossible.

The fact was, the unsub had gotten under her skin…inside her.

And that fact scared her almost as much as the unsub himself.

Until further notice, this story will be on hiatus for the foreseeable future.