"Tough case" doesn't even begin to scratch the surface of what Reid would call it, and he's sure he's doing a very poor job of keeping that particular frustration clear of his expression. Shaking his head, he pauses to consider what he wants his actual answer to be, taking a sip of his now extra sugared coffee to buy himself a few extra seconds. It's not that he's afraid of what Riley might think of him if he admits this case is running him a little ragged. If anything, Reid thinks everyone in the precinct assigned to this case is feeling exactly the same way.

What he doesn't want is to sound like he's edging closer to giving up, which isn't true but with the right inflection, Reid knows it might come across as such. There have been cases with the BAU that'd affected him so deeply that he hadn't even wanted to be a part of them anymore, selfish as that may be. This case hits him close in the sense that there have been several kids sent to live at the Home now, and Reid remembers how Jack had felt about being there. The place isn't a sanctuary. It isn't a place for cruelty, either, but it isn't as warm as its name might make it seem.

"This guy is good at what he does," Reid eventually settles on saying. "We have a couple sketches, based on what descriptions we've gotten from the victims." He calls them victims, all of them, even the women who'd shot their husbands because that's exactly what they are. "We released them, even though they aren't exactly substantial, I'm sure you saw. We were desperate. So we've got a limited history, an inconclusive physical description, and another full moon in three days." He leans back against the counter, shrugging helplessly. "I'm not usually at such a loss but this time..."

This time, he feels like an enormous failure.