Reid's voice: "All that time does is make it more distant, put more space between you and what happened. It doesn't heal anything. I don't know how or what does the healing but it isn't time."-Mercedes Lackey
The team is boarding the jet. Hotch, Rossi and Morgan are on board and getting situated while waiting for the others to come aboard.
Hotch: Are we comfortable with Reid coming?
Rossi: He seems okay and he passed the evaluation. We can't really keep him home forever.
Morgan: We'll keep and eye on him. I'll pull him out if he seems shaky.
Hotch: Morgan, how are you doing?
Morgan: With what?
Rossi: You know it wasn't your fault, right? You didn't cause what happened to him.
Morgan: I know that.
Morgan seems not altogether convinced of his own words. The rest of the team is on board and Reid approaches Morgan, Rossi and Hotch.
Reid: Should I sit somewhere else or are you finished talking about me?
Morgan: I thought you got past the paranoia weeks ago.
Reid: It's only paranoia when it's imagined.
Morgan: You're right. Sorry, man.
Hotch: Maybe we should just go over the case.
As if out of habit, the team looks to J.J. who just smiles and nods over at Reid.
Reid: Oh yeah. So the original victims were all red heads in their early 20's. They were all raped and strangled to death. The cuts on the bodies were perimortem. No bodily fluids, hair or fibers were present to give any sort of forensic evidence as to the identity of the attacker. And all of the women were menstruating at the time of death.
Prentiss: Was anything taken? Maybe something he's keeping as a trophy?
Reid: The women were all found naked so he could, presumably, be keeping any or all of their clothing and jewelry.
Rossi: None of the jewelry ever turned up over the years?
Reid: No.
Garcia's voice magically pipes up from the laptop on the table.
Garcia: Is this my cue, doctor?
Reid: Perfect timing, Garcia. What did you turn up on the newest victim?
Garcia: Chloe Seymour aged 21, red hair, college student like most of the others.
Morgan: I suppose it would be asking too much for an overt connection to any of the earlier victims.
Garcia: Much too much, sugar. Not anything at all except age and appearance and an icky guy about to carve Roman numerals on her.
Reid: Thanks, Garcia. Let us know if you come up with anything else.
Garcia: Your wish is my command, Sir Knight. Hey Reid…
Reid: Yeah?
Garcia: It's good to have you back. Garcia out.
Reid smiles and speaks more to himself than to anyone else.
Reid: It's good to be back.
The team parades into the police station where they are met by the lead detective.
Det. Newton: Joe Newton. I'm lead on the Seymour case. I was lead on the X Killer ten years ago too.
J.J.: Jennifer Jareau, we spoke on the phone. These are agents Morgan, Hotchner, Rossi, Prentiss and Dr. Reid.
Det. Newton: This sure isn't what I expected when I sent that file to the FBI. You guys are sure this missing woman is related to the X Killer?
Reid: Reasonably certain, yes. And if I am correct, she is just the first of many.
Det. Newton looks somewhat unsettled and looks to the rest of the agents for some sort of idea of how to take Reid.
Rossi: He's not often wrong.
Det. Newton: So what do you need?
Morgan: Eventually we will need to talk to friends and family of Chloe Seymour. Right now though, we'd like you to gather your people in here. We have enough from the original case for a preliminary profile.
The local police are gathered to listen to the agents.
Morgan: We first want to stress that this is a very preliminary assessment. We are going on what this unsub did ten years ago. He has undoubtedly evolved since then but there are things that would not change and these are the things we will be addressing with you all today.
Hotch: Looking at the original data, we would believe those crimes to be committed by a white male in his late twenties to early thirties. That would now put him in his late thirties to early forties.
Morgan: Lack of forensic evidence on the victims leads us to believe a foreign object was used to violate the women.
Rossi: This is often an indicator of impotence.
Reid: The murders have a very ritualized quality to them. The unsub most likely has an extreme and untreated OCD or Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. Even in very extremes, most cases of OCD will only pose a danger to the sufferer and not a severe danger at that. Hoarding is an example of extreme OCD. Something has caused this unsub to turn his obsessions outward in a violent manner.
Prentiss: Looking at victimology, that something is most likely a young woman with red hair. Probably she was a romantic interest who wronged him in some way but we shouldn't rule out anger toward his mother or another close female relative.
Det. Newton: Why the carving? And why cut them while they are still alive?
Reid: The cutting of the Roman numeral on his victims is part of the ritual. He just has to do it. As for why he does this while they are still alive, there are a couple of possible explanations.
Morgan: One is that he may be a sadist who actually gets off on inflicting pain.
Reid: Or there could be something psychologically significant for him in the letting of blood. Corpses don't really bleed. Bleeding someone was once considered a cure all and for some it is still a way to let evil spirits out of a person.
Det. Newton: Are you saying this has some sort of religious angle?
Hotch: Not necessarily and it would be best if we kept that kind of talk away from the media when discussing the case. You really do not want the kind of panic that can bring about.
Reid: To clarify. He is ritualized because of a mental illness. Not because of religion. And I am not saying that he is killing because of religion either. I am suggesting that certain religious teachings can become horribly skewed by mental illness.
The agents are finished and begin to walk away. Prentiss touches Reid's arm causing him to turn to face her.
Prentiss: I don't think I realized until just a few minutes ago how much I missed having you around. I'm so glad you're back.
Reid looks slightly uncomfortable at the attention. But grateful at the same time.
Reid: Thanks, Emily.
In a typical dorm room filled with posters of rock stars and sports heroes, Rossi and Prentiss are talking to Chloe's roommate.
Prentiss: Beth, how well do you know Chloe?
Beth: We've been roomies since freshman year. We're pretty tight. That's how I knew she was missing. She would never take off like that without letting me know that she was going somewhere. We text all the time and she's a total facebook junkie. She hasn't updated her status once.
Rossi: Does Chloe have a boyfriend?
Beth: Fiancé. He only proposed a month ago but they've been together like two years now. Jeff Meyers.
Prentiss: Has she said anything lately about anybody bothering her? Following her? Giving off a creepy vibe? Someone she doesn't know trying to friend her on facebook?
Beth shakes her head no.
Beth: And she totally would have, too. If someone was bugging her, I'd know.
Rossi: Is this her computer?
Beth: Yeah.
Rossi: We need to take this.
Beth: As far as I'm concerned you can take anything you want if it helps you find Chloe.
