Spencer's fingers ran over the spines of the books on the shelves in front of him. He wasn't looking for anything in specific, just browsing on a rare day off from the bureau. He had read just about everything in his apartment ten times over, and could recite each and every one of them by heart if someone had asked him to. He had to find something new to read, not that there was anything wrong with the books he had, but something new would be nice for the long plane rides in the coming weeks.

He had never stepped foot in the little bookstore before, and now that he was here, he wasn't sure why. It was a charming shop, quiet and quaint, with tall shelves and cozy corners for those who wished to tuck themselves away for a while to read in peace. Faint music wafted through the air. It was a calming song, soothing and a bit pensive. He felt himself get sucked into it, letting the melody of the string instruments wash over him. He didn't even realize he was spacing until he heard humming. It was a girl's voice, and when he heard it he jumped to attention, searching for the voice out of reflex.

His eyes landed on a girl standing a little ways down the aisle of bookshelves. She was rather short, and looked to be about her age. Her black hair hung down a little past her shoulders in waves. Next to her was a little cart of books she was shelving. "It's DeVotchKa." She said suddenly.

"Excuse me?" His voice croaked.

She looked at him and smiled, pausing in her shelving. "The song, it's How It Ends by DeVotchKa." She looked back at her shelf. "You seemed to enjoy it so I thought I'd let you know."

"Oh, thank you." He said, ducking his head a bit.

The girl wheeled her cart farther down the aisle until she was standing next to him. He noticed just how short she was now, her head reaching a little above his shoulders. "Are you looking for anything? I can help you find it." Now that she stood closer, he got a good look at the bookstore uniform she wore, as well as her face. Her face was round and pale, framed by straight bangs, and a pair of large, oval-square glasses hid hazel eyes.

"No I'm not looking for anything in particular." He let out a laugh. "But if you have any recommendations, I'm all ears."

She smiled. "Ah, recommendations are what I'm best at. What are you in the mood for?" She hummed. "Something sad? Something romantic?" She dropped her voice to a dramatic whisper. "Something spooky."

He laughed again. This girl was interesting to say the least. "Anything is fine."

"Ah well, in that case, here." She reached in her cart and pulled out a thick book with a picture of a distraught man on the cover. "A Little Life, it's one of my favorites. Though, I will warn you it's pretty graphic and depressing."

He took it from her. "Thank you."

"It's my pleasure." She grabbed a hold of her cart again and wheeled it past him, before turning to look at him over her shoulder. "You'll have to come back and let me know what you thought of it."

"I will…" He trailed off, inviting her to share her name with him.

"Bunny." She said, thumbing the little nametag she wore.

"Bunny." He repeated, trying it out for himself. An interesting name for an interesting girl. "I'm Spencer."

"Well Spencer, I look forward to seeing you again." With that she turned back to her cart and pushed it away to another set of shelves.

"Bunny." He repeated to himself again once she had disappeared. He looked down at the book in his hands and smiled. He would definitely enjoy returning there. And returned he did, about two days later, with the book in his hands. As soon as he walked in, he saw her. She was manning the cash register that day, a bored look on her face, until she saw him walk in.

"Spencer." She beamed. "Did you like it?"

He nodded, stopping in front of the counter she stood behind. "You were right, it did get graphic. The ending really got to me too, I don't think I've cried over a book that much before."

"I'm glad you liked it, the ending got me too, though you don't really strike me as the type to cry over books."

He just chuckled.
"I'm actually surprised you finished it this fast, I thought I read fast and it took me about a week to finish it.

"I can read twenty thousand words per minute." He said sheepishly.

"That's amazing." He watched her eyes sparkle in wonder. "I wish I could read that fast. You know how many books I could read in a week if I could? I don't think I'd have to worry about which book to read ever again, it just wouldn't matter."

"I actually finished it a lot sooner, I just didn't have the time to come back until today." This elicited a small laugh from her.

"You're a pretty interesting guy Spencer." She rested her chin on her hand, leaning closer to him over the counter. He studied her closely, and for the first time he noticed her necklace. It was a dark oval locket, it looked as if it were made of wood. It hung close to her neck, like a choker, from a dark velvet ribbon and had a silver engraving of a flower, lily of the valley. It looked to him like a mourning locket, a necklace women wore in the victorian era to remember their loved ones once they had passed. Before Spencer could reply, or ask about her necklace, his phone buzzed, signalling a phone call.

"Sorry, one moment." He turned away and answered with a simple, "hello?"

"Reid, it's JJ, we've got a case, I'll explain more when you get here."

"I'll be there soon." He hung up after exchanging byes with JJ and turned back toward Bunny.

"What was that about?" She scrunched her nose. She appeared very rabbit-like, much like her namesake. "Sorry, that's nosey of me, you don't have to answer that."

"No it's fine, it's my work that's all. I have to go."

"Oh! Before you do, I have another book for you. If you want of course."

He smiled. "I'd love it."

She reached under the counter and pulled out a copy of The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath. He reached into his satchel to grab his wallet before she stopped him.

"It's on me." She said. "It's a personal copy of mine."

"I can't take this."

"I insist." She smiled. "I have a few copies of it. It's yours, I mean it."

"Thank you. I'll see you soon then?"

"I look forward to it." They waved to each other as he hurried out of the bookstore. He checked his watch as he rushed down the sidewalk to get to the metro station, breathing out a sigh of relief when he realized he would just make it for the train he needed. Alone with his thoughts, he couldn't help but think of Bunny. She had seemed genuinely interested in him and his ability to read as fast as he could. He entered the metro train he needed. She had leaned forward to talk to him, a clear indicator that she was interested in their conversation. He was used to people showing signs of disinterest while talking to him. But she made it clear that she was glad to be talking to him.

As quick as he had gotten on, his train had arrived, and he hurried off of it as soon as the doors had opened. He pushed his ways through the throngs of people and up out of the metro to hurry into the BAU. The entire trek into the office and into the briefing room, he continued to think about Bunny. He must have been looking far away because as soon as he passed him in the bullpen, Morgan was on his tail.

"Morning pretty boy," He said. "Whatcha thinkin' about in that beautiful brain of yours?"

"Nothing." He waved him off.

"I find that hard to believe."

Reid just shrugged in response as they sat down at the round table with everyone else.

"We've got three dead women and two dead men in the past five weeks in Salem, Massechusettes. Before they were found dead, they were kidnapped, taken from their homes in the middle of the night." JJ started. "They were found in the woods, wearing elaborate ball clothing, with multiple stab wounds to the stomach."

"Ball clothing?" Prentiss said.

"Looks like renaissance period." Reid mumbled. He leafed through the papers from the files, inspecting the crime scene photos. "They all have masquerade masks as well."

JJ nodded. "All the clothing was put on them antemortem, so they died in them."

"That's a lot dead in that short of time. How long were they kept before they were killed?" Rossi asked.

"That's the thing, it's not consistent" JJ pressed a button on her remote and a woman with light blonde hair popped up on the screen. "Rebekah Phillips was found weeks after her abduction-" she pressed another button and this time a man with dark hair popped up. "While Oscar Brooks was found a few days after he was abducted."

"Why the discrepancy?" Rossi gestured at his folder. "What's causing him to kill these people at indefinite times?"

"We're not sure yet, let's talk more about it on the plane. Wheels up in thirty." Hotch said, grabbing his folder and striding out of the room.

Reid sat still for a few more moments while everyone filed out, drinking in the contents that lay before him.

"Reid, you good man?" Morgan asked.

Reid jumped slightly. "Uh, yeah. I'm just looking at these costumes. They're elaborate, you don't really get these just anywhere."

"Let's go, we'll figure it out." Morgan clapped his shoulder and then left the room. Reid stood, closing the folder and grabbing it, along with the book Bunny had given him, then followed Morgan out the door.

They had thirty minutes before they needed to leave, and Reid excused himself to return to his apartment. Normally, he'd have a go bag poised and ready for this kind of thing, but he had taken it home with him after the last case and hadn't brought one back, having just finished his laundry and hadn't had the time to fix a new one. He once again found himself rushing down the busy streets and into the metro, and just as before his thoughts were occupied by Bunny. He wasn't sure what it was about her that made her so interesting to him. Was it that she showed interest in him? They had only spoken on two occasions, and not for very long at all.

He shook his head and stepped off the train he was on. Once out of the metro, he followed the familiar walk to his apartment, but he must not have been paying attention, because he ran into someone head on, causing them to drop their things. He was thankful he had put his folder and book in his satchel before he had left the office.

"I'm so sorry." He mumbled as he bent down to help whoever it was pick up their things.

"Spencer?" The person said. His head shot up to see he was nose to nose with Bunny. This close he could count each individual freckled that dotted her pale face. He felt himself mentally connecting them, like constellations in the night sky.

"Bunny. I'm sorry, I must not have been paying attention." He chuckled, shaking himself from his reverie.

She shook her head. "No it's fine, it's totally my fault." They both stood, him handing her the books she had dropped. He noticed finally that they were standing right in front of the bookstore she worked at. She must have just gotten off. "I thought you had work?"

"Yeah, I was just heading to my apartment to grab my bag, I have to travel."

"Seems like we're heading the same way." She smiled, motioning for him to walk with her. They walked together side by side at a steady pace, Bunny with her arms full of books. "It sounds like we'll both be gone for a while."

"What do you mean?" He asked, looking down at her. "I can help you carry some of those."

"No no, I got it. I'm going to visit my sister for a few days, she lives back in my hometown."

"Hometown?"

"I was gonna tell you before you left the bookstore, but I forgot. I'm glad I got to see you again to let you know, I wouldn't want you showing up to the shop without me there." She stopped suddenly. "This is me, I'll see you later."

He held the door open for her and they exchanged goodbyes. Once she was inside, he let go of the door and shoved his hands into the pockets of his pants. She lived only a few blocks from him and he'd never seen her before. She must have just moved. He was a ways down the sidewalk when he heard her voice again.

"Oh hey, Spence." He turned to see her poking out from behind the door. "You should take a look at that inside cover when you get the chance." She said and disappeared.

Spence. He cracked a smile. He made quick work of packing his go bag back at his apartment and then returning to the bureau to get on the jet just in time.

"Good of you to join us Reid." Hotch said as he grabbed a seat around everyone else so they could go over the case some more.

"Sorry, I ran into a friend on the way to my apartment." He said, setting his satchel on the ground. "Literally."

"Friend?" Pretiss asked. Reid just gave her one of his tight lipped smiles and opened his folder.

"What do we know about this unsub?" Hotch asked.

"He doesn't care about who it is he's abducting, so he's not kidnapping for a sexual reason." Prentiss offered.

"The costumes could indicate a fantasy the killer is creating, like a historical event or play of some kind." Reid mused. "These are costumes you make for renaissance festivals or theatre companies. It's not something you just come across everyday."

"So we should look into companies around the area that make these types of costumes." Hotch said. "We need to figure out why he's killing when he does."

"It feels like he's keeping them for something." Morgan said.

Spencer thought for a moment. "Maybe it's part of his fantasy. He's kidnapping them to be a part of this fantasy, and when they don't comply he kills them."

"Good. Morgan, Rossi, I want you at the last crime scene. JJ, you and I will touch base with the police. Reid, Prentiss, try and look further into this fantasy he may be creating."

Spencer nodded as the team dispersed to go about their own business. He stood, grabbing his satchel, and sat back down in a far corner. He thought back to what Bunny had said. Reaching into his satchel, he pulled out a copy of the book she had given him and opened the hard, front cover to see a message scrawled in neat, loopy handwriting.

"Hey, I figured you might not be able to come into the bookstore every time you finish a book I recommend, so call me? I'd love to hear your thoughts in greater detail. Sorry if this is weird, I know we just met." It read. Underneath was a phone number and her name. He felt a smile make its way to his face.

"What's that smile for?" Spencer jumped when he heard Morgan's voice.

"Nothing."

Morgan laughed and sat down in one of the seats across from him. "You're a shit liar. So what is it? A girl?"

Spencer didn't answer and he knew that told Morgan all he needed to know. Morgan's face broke into a wicked grin.

"The doctor's found a girlfriend."

"She's not my girlfriend, she's just a friend." Spencer said. "We met a few days ago at a bookstore not far from my apartment."

"She give you her number?" He asked. Spencer nodded, looking back down at the book in his hands. "You should give her a call."

He didn't respond. Morgan stood and went back over to where he had been sitting previously, leaving Spencer alone with his thoughts again. He thought about Morgan's words, turning them over in his mind. Maybe he was right. He made a promise to himself that he would call whenever he had a chance. Or whenever he finished the book. Whichever came first. He opened to the first page and began reading.

Chapter Title: Bunny by Tourist