Though he had a file open on the desk in front of him, for once Reid wasn't concentrating on the paperwork. Instead, he was watching for Morgan to leave Garcia's office. He needed to talk to the blonde tech about something, and Morgan was the last person he wanted as an audience to this conversation.
Finally, he saw Morgan heading back toward the bullpen. Picking up the folder so it would appear as though he had something work related to discuss with the tech, Reid got up and headed in that direction. He passed Morgan with a quick acknowledgment and made it to Garcia's office without incident, knocking on the open door as he reached it.
Garcia swivelled her chair around to see who had knocked. "Oh, hey, Sweet Cheeks, come on in," she said exuberantly. "I guess maybe I should stop using that particular nickname, as Amber might not take to it too well."
Reid felt his cheeks flush but didn't respond to the tech's commentary.
"Can I do something for you?" Garcia asked, pointing to the folder.
Reid looked down at it. He had forgotten he was even holding it. "Ah, no. At least not related to this," he amended as he took a few more steps into the office, pushing the door shut behind him. "I need your advice on something and seeing as you and Amber have been spending a lot of time together lately and you are a woman . . ."
"Yes, last time I looked I was indeed a woman," Garcia interrupted cheerfully, smiling. Seeing Reid's not so amused face, the smile faded. "Okay, continue. I'll be quiet," she told him.
"No, this was a bad idea," Reid said, turning to head for the door.
"Freeze," Garcia told him. "You came in here for my advice, so you better tell me what I can advise you on or I'm going to be following you around here until you do. I promise no more interruptions."
Reid sighed. Now that he had come in here, Garcia wasn't going to let him go easily. He could very easily see her following him around until he told her why he had come into her office in the first place. The only thing that would save him now was a case coming in for the team, and even then he had no doubt that the blonde tech would be waiting for him when the team got back. Deciding it was better to just give in and that he really did want her advice on the situation, Reid turned back to face his co-worker.
"Well, I wanted your opinion on my thoughts for celebrating Valentine's Day with Amber."
"Wow, someone who is planning before hand. Most guys wait until the day before if not the day of, and then rush around trying to impress their lady so she doesn't realize he almost forgot about the day altogether."
"I want it to be special," Reid told her.
"Ah, Sweetie, Amber is going to think anything you do is special because it's you doing it."
"Unless I manage to mess it up like I did the proposal."
"You didn't mess that up. Sure it wasn't the most suave performance, but she said yes and that's what's important. Besides the picture of the two of you tangled up on the driveway afterwards is kind of cute," Garcia said, thinking of the picture Morgan had taken on his phone and sent to her. It had taken some work, but she had been able to zoom in and fix the photo up with Photoshop.
"What picture?" Reid asked, the color draining from his face.
Garcia just smiled up at him without answering the question. "So what are you planning?"
"You can't say anything to her."
"And ruin the surprise. I'm too much of a romantic to do that."
Reid nodded. Taking a deep breath he started telling the blonde tech about his plans for the upcoming holiday including his idea of what could be considered an unconventional gift.
"Well thank-you for the recommendation."
"It was my pleasure," David Rossi told the woman he was talking to on the phone. "You know I'm always willing to help out whenever I can. Perhaps we can even get together one evening that you're in town and have dinner?"
"I think I would like that. It would be nice to see a familiar face while I'm in the city," she replied.
"Wonderful. How about Thursday night? I'll try to get reservations for seven o'clock."
"Valentine's Day? Why David Rossi are you flirting with me?"
"Not at all," Rossi replied. "It will just be two friends getting together for dinner."
"Well, it's been awhile since I had anyone treat me to dinner on Valentine's Day so even your offer sounds nice."
"I'm going to pretend that was a compliment," Rossi told her, as he heard a knock on his door. Looking up he saw JJ standing in the doorway. The blonde media liaison mouthed the words - "we have a case"- to him. Rossi nodded his acknowledgment and JJ moved on to get things ready in the conference room. "I've got to go."
"The job calls, huh?"
"Well it is during normal work hours. I'll call you with the details as soon as I've got reservations."
"Okay, stay safe."
"I will," Rossi replied before hanging up the phone. Placing the receiver in its cradle, Rossi got to his feet and left his office. Seeing that Prentiss, Morgan and Reid's desks were empty, he figured they had already gone to the conference room.
As he walked into the conference room, a quick glance told him that he was the last one to arrive. JJ was standing next to the screen, obviously waiting to start the briefing. Even Garcia was present, Rossi noted as he slipped into the empty chair between Hotch and Reid, as the blonde began talking.
"Detective Forbes of the D.C. Metro police called about an hour ago. They found this body," JJ began as she hit the button on the remote, and the corpse of a red head appeared on the screen, the lower half of her body submerged in water, "along the shores of the Potomac River. Hikers found the body this morning and called it in. They're still working on a positive identification."
The woman looked to be in her late teens, maybe twenty at the most. Though the long-sleeved flannel shirt she was wearing had seen better days, she appeared to be still clothed. What could be seen of the body, bore bruises and minor cuts but didn't appear to have any signature wounds to it.
"Okay, but why did they call us for one body?" Morgan asked, not understanding why this would be a BAU case.
"Because they believe they have more than this body," JJ replied. "In the pocket of the victim's shirt they found this note." JJ hit a button and the screen switched from the picture of the victim to a close up of said note.
"How blind are you? I've been killing for almost a month now and you don't even have a clue. Thought I might help you out though maybe you don't care. These girls are just as unwanted in their death as they were in their lives. Runaway's End," Reid said out loud as he read the note.
"He's obviously taunting police to get attention," Rossi said. "How do we know there are actually more bodies? He doesn't give any specifics just claims he's been killing."
"We don't," Hotch replied, "but somebody did obviously kill this young woman."
"Metro has units combing the banks of the Potomac looking for other bodies and the Coast Guard is dragging the river. They haven't turned up any more bodies yet but they're still taking the note seriously."
"From the wording of the note, I think this UnSub is going after victims that are either on the street, homeless or more likely runaways. He says they were unwanted in death as well as in life and then signs it Runaway's End with the apostrophe indicating the end belongs to the runaway," Reid commented. "Garcia, check the open runaway cases for the D.C. area and see if our victim is among them," Hotch said.
"Yes, sir," the tech replied, getting to her feet, grateful to have an excuse to get out of the room. "Morgan, Prentiss, Rossi and Reid why don't you all head down to the crime scene, and see what you can turn up there. I'll stay here for now and work on some other things until we know for sure this isn't just an isolated incident. Keep me informed on what's going on."
With a nod of acknowledgment, the four profilers got to their feet and headed for the elevators. It wasn't long before Morgan was pullieng their black SUV to a stop among other emergency responders' vehicles. Getting out, Rossi lead the other three toward the crime scene tape. Rossi took out his badge and flashed it to one of the uniform cops standing near the tape, keeping an eye on the few gawkers that had gathered along the river bank.
The uniformed cop nodded his acknowledgment as he lifted the crime scene tape to allow the FBI agents to duck under it.
"Is Detective Forbes around?" Agent Rossi asked the cop.
"Right there," the cop replied, pointing to a middle-aged man wearing a navy dress shirt, tan slacks, and mud splattered dress shoes. He was taking long strides in their direction, a serious look on his face. The metro detective didn't seem to have noticed the FBI agents yet.
"Detective Forbes," Agent Rossi called out.
The detective looked in Rossi's direction, for a moment looking angry at the interruption. When he realized it was an agent from the FBI addressing him, Forbes' expression softened slightly. "You from the FBI?"
Rossi nodded. "The Behavioral Analysis Unit. I'm Agent Rossi," Dave said introducing himself. "These are Agents Morgan, Prentiss and Dr. Reid."
"I'm glad to have your help, however if you want to check out the crime scene," Detective Forbes said, waving his hand around the area, "you're on your own for a little while. One of the Coast Guard boats just pulled three bodies out of the river. They're heading back to their port with them and I want to meet them there."
"Mind if I tag along?" Rossi asked.
"Not at all."
"Prentiss and Morgan, why don't the two of you check out the crime scene. Reid and I will go with Detective Forbes."
"Got it," Prentiss and Morgan said.
"Larson," Forbes called out to the uniformed cop who had held the crime scene tape up for the federal agents. Seeing that he had the cop's attention, the detective continued. "Make sure these two agents get anything they need."
"Yes, sir," Larson replied stepping away from the crime scene tape and motioning for the two FBI agents to follow him. As the cop led Prentiss and Morgan in the direction that Forbes had just come from, the detective started back for his car.
"Station Washington has all four of their boats out on the Potomac right now, searching for bodies. If there are more bodies like the note claims, the river is the most likely dump site given that this last victim was found on the banks of the Potomac and none of the other bodies were found," Forbes informed the two federal agents.
"Do you think there are more bodies?" Rossi asked, noting the detective's use of the word if.
"I don't know," Forbes replied opening the driver's side of a dark-blue sedan. "What I do know is that I've got a maniac loose, who has killed at least one person and claims to have killed more. There are enough open missing persons and runaway cases that it's possible he could have killed someone without anyone being aware of it. I also know that the Coast Guard has pulled three bodies from the Potomac River. Until someone convinces me otherwise," the detective continued as he backed the car out from where it was parked and headed it in the direction the agents had just come in, "I'm going to assume they're connected to the one found this morning. If they're not connected, well then we've got more than one maniac out there."
"Well, we're here to help you determine just that, Detective," Rossi told him from the passenger seat. "We're here to assist you in any way we can in this case, starting with determining if these victims were all killed by the same person."
"And how likely do you think that is?"
"Do you know if the three bodies found in the river were in the same vicinity?" Reid asked from the back of the car.
"Yeah, they were all in the vicinity of one another. I think the report was within a couple feet of each other. Why?"
"Well, given that the Potomac River is the fourth largest river along the Atlantic Coast of the United States at approximately 383 statue miles long and a drainage area of about 14,700 square miles, the likelihood of three bodies being found even within a square mile of each other and not being related is extremely unlikely."
"So someone chose to dump the bodies in the same area?" the detective asked. He saw the 'isn't that what I just said' look on the face of the young FBI agent in his rearview mirror.
"Yes," Rossi replied, from the passenger seat.
"So if he dumps three bodies in the river unknown to anyone, why leave one out in the open?"
"Because nobody knew about him," Reid replied. "Killers like to take credit for their work. If they feel they aren't getting that, many of them will insert themselves into an investigation, like this UnSub did with the note," he explained, before he started citing specific examples.
"I'm not here for a history lesson," Detective Forbes said, interrupting Reid after a couple of minutes. "How old are you anyway?"
"Twenty-six," Reid replied.
"Great, I've been a police officer for almost as many years as this kid has been alive," Forbes muttered under his breath.
"Dr. Reid has been key to solving many cases with the BAU since he started," Rossi said putting emphasis on his teammate's title. "You would do well to take him seriously."
Forbes didn't respond to that. The car was silent for a few minutes, before Rossi started asking more questions about the case. By the time Forbes was showing his badge at the gate to the Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling on which the Coast Guard's Station Washington was located, the limited information that had been gathered by the metro police had been relayed.
Following the directions given by the guard, it wasn't long before Detective Forbes was pulling the car to a stop near the docks where normally Station Washington's four 25-foot Defender Class response boats were moored. Right now only one boat was at the dock, and the Coast Guard personnel present were carrying a body bag off the boat. As Forbes, Rossi and Reid walked in their direction, the two federal agents recognized Amber among them. Seeing them, Lt. Rossi gave a slight nod to the two of them. The detective and two agents reached the group, as they placed the body bag they were carrying next to another one.
"Detective Forbes?" one of the Coast Guard personnel asked, addressing the metro detective. At Forbes' nod of acknowledgment the man introduced himself. "I'm Lt. Commander Hines, commanding officer of Station Washington."
After introducing the two federal agents, the four men started talking about the bodies that had been pulled out of the river. It wasn't long before Lt. Amber Rossi and one of the other officers who had been on the boat had joined them, answering questions for the detective and agents, as a metro crime scene unit arrived on the scene.
It was almost eight o'clock at night, and Amber Rossi was just taking the lasagna she had made for dinner out of the oven. She had gotten home late, having put in some extra hours at work due to the search of the river. The three bodies she and her boat crew had pulled out of the water that morning were the only ones that had been found. Still, those three had been enough. From what she had been able to tell, all three of them had been young at the time of their deaths. Amber found herself wondering who they were. ~At least in Alaska all the bodies had names, ~ she thought as she put the dish down on the counter.
She heard the front door open. Turning she headed in that direction. The fact that Spencer was working late to was another reason for the late dinner. She hadn't even started dinner until he had called and said they were about ready to wrap things up for the night. Spencer was hanging up his coat and scarf as she entered the hallway.
Amber noted that he looked tired, as she put her arms around him as he turned to face her. It had been a long day for the both of them.
"Dinner smells good," Spencer said, after he kissed her hello.
"I just took it out of the oven. It's grandma's recipe," Amber told him taking a step back. "Come on, let's go eat. I'm starving and I'm sure you are too, and even if you're not, you can't afford to skip any meals."
"Why does everyone fuss over what I eat?" Spencer asked, even as he let himself be led in the direction of the kitchen.
"Because there is nothing to you," Amber told him.
It wasn't long before the couple was sitting at the small table in the kitchen, with a plate of lasagna and a bowl of salad in front of them. They were almost through the meal when Amber brought up the subject of the victims.
"Were they able to identify the bodies we pulled out this morning?" Amber asked, as she stood up to rinse her plate.
"Yeah, we've got Ids on all the victims, that's why we stayed so late tonight. We were working on the victimology," Spencer replied.
"Who were they?" Amber asked, turning the water on and holding the plate under the running water.
"All the victims matched up with local open runaway cases," Spencer replied, his mind replaying the discussion that he and his co-workers had engaged in back in the conference room. The victims were also all in their late teens and had red hair. This UnSub was targeting teenage, redheaded runaways for some reason. Finding out why would help them locate him.
"I meant their names, Spencer," Amber replied.
"Honey, it doesn't really matter d . . ."
Spencer never finished what he was saying as the sound of the plate breaking in the sink as Amber tossed it down, interrupted him.
"It does matter! Each of those bodies we pulled out of the river today was a person. An individual whose life had as much worth as anyone else."
"I know that," Spencer said getting to his feet. He crossed slowly over to her as he continued to speak, as Amber still stood with her back to him, hands gripping the sink. "Amber, the most recent body had been in the water for the past three days. There wasn't anything you could do to save them," he told her as he heard Garcia's report in his mind. ~"The ME says the cause of death for all four victims was wet drowning," the tech had reported walking into the conference room. That meant that all four teenagers had been alive when they drowned.~ "What difference does knowing what their names were make?" Spencer asked softly.
Amber turned to face him, tears glistening in her eyes. "Because at least if I know their names, I can personalize them. They aren't just cold bodies that I pulled from the water."
Spencer reached out and pulled her close to him.
"Either you can tell me or I'll find out some other way, but I will learn their names," Amber told him, as she rested her head against his chest.
As he held her tight against him, Spencer told her the names of the three victims that the Coast Guard had pulled from the Potomac River earlier that day as well as a bit of the information that Garcia had managed to learn about each of them.
1 a.m., Feb. 13th, on the Potomac River:
Petty Officer Dan Kline steered the Coast Guard boat down the center of the river. There was no other traffic at this time of the night. Though apparently alone on the river, Lt. Amber Rossi and Ensign Jason Suarez stood in the cabin of the RB-S Defender Class boat, with Kline, their eyes focused toward the shoreline of opposite river banks.
Commander Hines had initiated the constant twenty-four hour patrols after the fifth body had turned up two days after they had pulled the three bodies from the river. This victim, a seventeen year old, redhead named Darcy Mayze had been located thanks to her killer. The UnSub had left a note on Detective Forbes' front door that morning, telling him that he had killed another and where her body had been dumped in the icy river. It hadn't taken long for the Coast Guard to locate and bring up Darcy's body. Like the other victims, she still had on her clothes and wet-drowning was the cause of death. Detective Forbes had checked his family into a motel under his wife's maiden name, unnerved by the fact that the UnSub knew where he lived.
Over the last couple of days, no more notes had arrived. Despite metro police and the Coast Guard having the profile given by the agents of the FBI's Behavioral Analysis Unit, no leads had been found. Commander Hines was hoping that the patrols might catch the guy in the act when he went to dump the next body. Given the natures of the previous victim's death, if he was caught at the right time they could possibly be in time to save the victim. They had to locate the killer first though.
"Spending a cold February night out on the river, is so not my idea of fun," Suarez commented, even though all three officers were within the cabin of the boat.
"If you think this is cold, spend February in Kodiak, Alaska," Lt. Rossi said, not taking her eyes from the waters they were patrolling.
"No thanks," Suarez answered.
The three Coast Guard members fell into a watchful silence after that. A silence that was interrupted by Suarez about ten minutes later.
"What's that?" he asked, pointing in the direction of the shoreline he had been watching.
Coming to stand beside Suarez, Lt. Rossi looked in the direction that Kline was pointing. In the dim light of the moon, she could make out the silhouette of a lone figure leaving the shore in a small boat.
"Kline, kill the searchlight," Lt. Rossi, being the most senior officer present, ordered. "Let's check it out but I don't want him knowing we're here for as long as possible.
"Yes ma'am," Kline responded, as he turned off the boat's searchlight. The area around the boat was plunged into darkness. Pulling back on the throttle, Kline pointed their boat in the direction of the smaller boat, the slower speed making them less noticeable to others sharing the river with them.
Lt. Rossi stepped out of the cabin of the boat, and made her way to the front of the boat. Suarez, grabbing the bullhorn as he walked past it, followed her. It wasn't long before he was standing by Rossi. Both officers watched as they got closer to the other boat. The one figure that they had seen was sitting in the back of the boat, hand on the boat's small outboard motor. Intent on his own destination, the guy didn't see the Coast Guard boat headed his direction until they had gotten quite close to him. Lt. Rossi knew that they were close enough now that if the guy on the boat decided to try making a run for it, the RB-S they were on could easily overtake him.
Glancing to her right at Suarez, Lt. Rossi took note that he had the bullhorn in his hand. Glancing back to the smaller boat, she noticed the man had noticed their presence. "Go ahead, and order him to stop," Rossi told Suarez, part of her wondering if the man would comply or if he would try to make a run for it. She motioned to Kline to switch the search light back on, so they would have more light.
Suarez gave a slight nod, even as he raised the bullhorn to his mouth. "This is the United States Coast Guard, you are ordered to bring your vessel to a stop and prepare for us to come along of side you."
Both Coast Guard officers waited to see what the guy would do. Deciding that trying to make a run for it wasn't in his best interests he cut the motor.
"Stay alert. I'll be right back. I'm going to radio the situation in," Lt. Rossi informed Suarez, walking back toward the cabin.
"Yes ma'am," Suarez replied, putting down the bullhorn, and letting his right hand come to rest on his firearm. As they closed in on the other boat, Suarez could tell the guy was nervous by reading his body language. He had a feeling this was not going to go as smoothly as it appeared to be going right now.