Cho and Rigsby were just leaving the flower shop when they got the terse call from Grace. She had they had to come quickly because there was a development in the case. Her tone of voice made them think it was a development they weren't going to like.
Their suspicion grew stronger as they saw Grace fuming in their offices. "You look pissed," Cho remarked.
"Because I am," she said. "I told Hightower about what happened with the boss and Patrick."
"And?" Rigsby pressed.
"And he called the FBI," Van Pelt exploded. They stared at her. "A group called the BAU is currently getting ready to fly over here," she sighed, "They're going to take over our case."
"This is Jane and the boss," Rigsby said, "We should be the ones working it."
"He's right," Cho agreed. "These people don't even know anything about Red John let alone the boss and her family."
"Can't we stop this?" Rigsby asked.
Grace shook her head. "The call was already made. Hightower said her hands are tied."
"We should let them know," Cho said. There was no need for him to elaborate. Grace pulled out her cell phone and went to Teresa's office to call her in private. The same thought was running through all of their heads. Each was wondering what was going on in Quantico and who these people were that were soon going to trample over all their hard work.
At that moment the BAU wasn't in Quantico but instead on a plane heading for the scene of their next case. "So what do we know about this Red John?" Rossi asked as JJ handed out case files.
"He kills mostly women in their late twenties to mid thirties," Reid said, "His signature is a red smiley face drawn over the victims bodies which are placed so that you see both the face and the bodies as soon as you open the door."
"That means he's a narcissist," Hotch said. "He wants his work to be seen."
"He also considers himself an artist or a showman," Morgan said, "He likes to think he's original."
Rossi snorted. "Don't they all?" he commented.
"Drawing in the victim's blood is unusual," Prentiss commented, "Is there something significant other than the signature?"
"Not likely," Hotch responded. "The way the victims were brutalized shows that he views them merely as objects. They are there for his use and then discarded immediately afterward."
"Clearly he's a sexual sadist," Prentiss said. "You don't get cuts that precise with anything other than a very sharp knife. We all know the penetration symbolism there. Most likely also means he's impotent."
"He's also methodical," Rossi pointed out. "He uses a kitchen glove to cover his hand when drawing the face so you can't trace his prints. Not to mention he's killed over sixteen women and never been caught."
"Seventeen women if you count a prostitute in Tijuana," Morgan commented.
"Seventeen women, one man and one child," JJ murmured. She frowned at the statistics. "Garcia, are you there?" she called.
The blonde tech appeared on the computer screen. "Your goddess of omnipotence is at your service," she responded.
"It says here that the man Red John killed died because he was trying to contact the police. What about the one child? Isn't odd for him to go off target like that?"
Hotch nodded. "All the other victims were either necessary kills or women of a specific age range. Clearly children weren't his type. Can you bring up the case file Garcia? The victims' names are Kathryn and Fiona Jane."
They heard the clacking of her keyboard for a few moments before she answered again. "I have it," she said, "The victims were a mother and her daughter." Her face saddened. "The poor little girl was only six. They were both killed eight years ago."
"Who found them?"
"It says here the husband." She let out an almost gasp.
"What is it baby girl?" Morgan asked.
"The husband's name is Patrick Jane," she said.
"That name sounds familiar," Rossi mused.
"It should sir, he used to make quite the living as psychic," Garcia said. "He even had his own talk show where he would help people communicate with their lost loved ones."
"Now I remember," Rossi agreed, "My second wife was a big fan of his. His show ran along side all the day time religious channels and she'd always have him on. I caught it once or twice."
"What did you think of it?" Hotch asked.
"The man would've made one hell of a profiler," Rossi told him. "He was that good. What happened to him Garcia?"
"Well he used to help out the police on cases and they asked him to consult on Red John," she said. "Mr. Jane made the mistake of taunting Red John when he went on a local talk show down there. He came home that night to find a note from Red John telling Mr. Jane that he didn't like to be called a coward and that if he was really psychic he wouldn't have to open the door to know what Red John had done to his and I quote 'lovely wife and daughter'."
"So he killed the little girl and her mother because this guy mouthed off at him?" JJ said. "Clearly he does not like to be put down."
"Of course not," Rossi said, "It's the narcissism showing through." He turned back to the computer. "What happened to the husband after that?"
"He went through quite the crisis sir," Garcia said.
"His wife and daughter were brutally murdered and then the bodies left for him to find," Hotch replied, "I can't imagine who wouldn't go through crisis."
"Well he denounced his psychic powers and those of all others as fake and dropped off the map for awhile," Garcia reported. "Since I am finding prescriptions for sleep medication and antidepressants I'd say mental hospital."
"Isn't it in his record?" Morgan asked.
"Nope," she told him, "My guess is he paid a lot of money to make it go away. And I think I just found the reason."
"What's that?"
"About a year after dropping off the map he was hired as a consultant for the California Bureau of Investigation. He is still employed there to this day."
"He wanted to keep tabs on Red John," Hotch surmised.
"And he did," Garcia said. "There are reports of Red John doing all sorts of things to taunt Mr. Jane while he was a consultant. However all communication abruptly ceased three years ago."
"All until today," JJ said with a nod. "The woman I spoke to, an agent Hightower, said that one of her senior agents and her husband had received a threatening note."
"Did he say what was in the note?" Hotch asked.
"He didn't know. The senior agent called in her team when she found out who the note was from. They had already sent it to forensics when she was informed of the situation."
"Hey Garcia," Morgan called, "See if you can pull up their files on this."
"You want me to hack into the files of the CBI's forensics unit?" Garcia asked.
"It's better to be prepared," Hotch said.
"As you command my captain," she shrugged. After a moment she looked back up. "Found it. It was apparently from a local flower shop, attached to a dozen red roses and delivered to a Teresa Jane."
"Teresa Jane?" Rossi repeated. "That's the same last name as the psychic that taunted him. Are they related in some way?"
"If by related you mean married, then yes," Garcia confirmed. "It says here that the new Mrs. Jane is head of the Serious Crimes Division of CBI. She had just gotten the promotion when her future husband started there only back then she was Teresa Lisbon. She had only one other agent with her, a Kimball Cho. A year later a Wayne Rigsby joined them and then three years after that a Miss Grace Van Pelt graced their ranks. From that day to this there have been no more additions to the team. Not that they would need any, they have the highest solve rate in the department."
"What can you tell us about Patrick and Teresa?" Prentiss asked.
"Um, from what I can get from reports Teresa was very straight-laced and against Patrick's quote 'unconventional' methods. However he must have grown on her because after awhile her reports become less and less harsh. Ooh this is interesting, she notes in her early reporting that Jane liked to sleep on a couch in the office instead of going home at night."
"Too many memories in an empty house," Rossi agreed, "What else?"
"Uh, everyone else on the team seems to like him," Garcia said, "After the first year Teresa not only stops trying to get him kicked out but actively begins to defend him when he's in trouble. If you want to know about their personal life you will have to talk to them but I do have a marriage license from about a year ago here."
"So they meet through work, start to bond and then when it seems as though Red John is no longer a threat Jane asks Teresa out," Prentiss said, "They get closer eventually get married. Anything else?"
"Very much so," Garcia told them. "The two happen to have a three month old son named Connor."
"Uh, Garcia was exactly did the note on the roses say?" Reid asked.
"It said 'I hope the search goes well. You wouldn't want to lose this baby like you did the last one'. There was no signature, only a smiley face in red ink."
"The search?" Morgan asked. "That's all it said? The search?"
"Correct," Garcia nodded. "If you want an explanation I would talk to the family."
"The smiley face signature is consistent with our UNSUB," Hotch mused. "Garcia where do the Janes live?"
"Patrick Jane's address hasn't changed so I can only assume they didn't feel like wasting a good home," she said.
"Wait, you're saying that a man lost his entire family, remarried and then the new wife moved into the house where her husband's former wife and daughter were brutally murdered?" Prentiss asked.
"That would be correct," Garcia confirmed. Prentiss couldn't quite find an answer for that.
"Thank you," Hotch said quietly to Garcia. He turned off the computer.
"Who does that?" Prentiss wondered.
"A very dedicated woman," JJ told her.
"Well, we're about to meet her," Hotch said. "Rossi, take Reid and Morgan to the Jane residence and talk to the family. Maybe they can provide a few helpful clues. JJ, I want you to keep strict tabs on the media, we don't want to drag the husband through this all again. Prentiss you and I will meet Mrs. Jane's team and see what they can tell us. We need to be sharp on this one people. This serial killer knows what we do and, thanks to Patrick Jane, how we work. We can't let him get ahead of us."
The team murmured their agreement and settled in to review the case files for the rest of the flight. One thing they were certain of was that this would be a case like none of them had ever experienced.