NOTE: Ok, I'm back to writing Criminal Minds. So, who else is STOKED for the new season? I know I am! Ok, fangirl moment over. This case is starting to wind down, and the ending might shock, it might not, but I hope you'll like it. Anyway, I just hope that it happens the way I imagined it would end. Anyway, I hope this has been an interesting case to read, just like it was an interesting case to write. This chapter will start off with Sandra's linguistic skills, and the English translations will follow beneath each bit of dialogue. And to anyone who's reading this from France or Germany, I'm sorry if the translations are off. I just used an online translator.
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"Every parting is a form of death, as every reunion is a type of heaven." -Tryon Edwards
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It had been a week until Sandra could talk to the German law enforcement. As they had predicted, their Unsub was accelerating her kills. What bothered the team was that she wasn't devolving in a way that serial killers usually did. Usually, their kills get progressively sloppier and eventually, they mess up and get caught. Not with this Unsub. She'd killed twice more in this week.
And so was the state of the investigation when Sandra was finally able to get on the phone with Germany.
"Hallo, mein Name ist Supervisory Special Agent Sandra Shea Abner mit Behavioral Analysis der FBI-Abteilung für in Quantico, Virginia. Mein Team und ich sind der Untersuchung einer Reihe von Morden und die Waffe verwendet wird ist ein Sauer 38H Pistole. Könnte jemand sich mir die Waffenbesitz-Datensätze für das Land?" asked Sandra. (Hello, my name is Supervisory Special Agent Sandra Shea Abner with the FBI's Behavioral Analysis Unit in Quantico, Virginia. My team and I are investigating a series of murders and the weapon being used is a Sauer 38H pistol. Could someone get me the gun ownership records for the country?) She paused, listening to to the German police officer on the other end. "Ja, ich weiß es gibt eine Menge Leute, aber ich brauche nur Datensätze für Frauen im Alter zwischen 35 und vierzig." (Yes, I know it's a lot of people, but I only need records for females between the ages of thirty five and forty.) Sandra and the German officer talked for another twenty minutes, and eventually, Sandra had successfully convinced the officer to get her the records. "Vielen Dank. Ich bin froh, dass wir in dieser Untersuchung mitarbeiten konnten. Ja, diese Aufzeichnungen sehr hilfreich. Mein Team bedankt sich bei Ihnen. Machen Sie einen schönen Rest des Tages!" (Thank you very much, sir. I'm glad that we were able to cooperate in this investigation. Yes, these records will help a lot. My team thanks you. Have a great rest of your day!) Sandra hung up the phone, sat down in a chair and sighed loudly.
"I have to say, you switch between German and English quite easily," said Rossi.
"Well, they are both Romance languages."
"You sounded really angry just now," said Rossi dryly.
"How fed up would you be if you had to negotiate for almost a half hour with a German police officer who didn't very much like you?" said Sandra, crossing her arms. "And I still need to do it again."
"Fair point." Rossi patted her shoulder. "Good luck."
Hotch came back in. "Did you get the records?"
"They're faxing them over to Garcia now," said Sandra. "The Germans didn't seem to like me very much."
"And the French?" asked Hotch.
"Haven't called them yet. I need a break."
"Take a few minutes," said Hotch. "You look like you need it."
"And what about no inter team profiling didn't you get?" asked Sandra only half seriously.
"Your cheeks are wet. You've been crying. It doesn't take a profiler to notice that. Take a few minutes. Call your husband," said Hotch.
Sandra pushed her hair back and smiled. "I will, thanks. Where are the rest of the team?"
"They're at the two crime scenes and the morgue. Rossi and I are still here because...wait, why is Rossi back here? Go take a break." Hotch walked off to find the older profiler.
Sandra smiled and went outside. She pulled out her phone and as she started to dial Nicholas' number, she noticed the time. He's in class. I'll call the baby sitter. She dialed the teenager's cell phone.
She answered fairly quickly. "Ashley here."
"Ashley, it's Sandra."
"Oh, hi! How's the case going?"
"You know I can't tell you much." Sandra smiled.
"I know."
"I just need to talk to Aaron."
"Case getting to you?"
"No, German and French law enforcement is." Sandra sighed. "Can you please put him on the phone?"
"Of course. He's in his room." Ashley got up and walked up the stairs.
"What's he doing?"
"When I last checked on him about twenty minutes ago, he was building with his legos. I think he was working on a city."
Sandra smiled. "He loves building cities and destroying them again with his dinosaur toys."
"Hang on, I'm at his room." Ashley opened the door. "Aaron, your mom wants to talk to you."
Aaron got off the floor and took the phone from Ashley's outstretched hand. "Hi mommy!"
"Hi Aaron. Ashley told me you're building another city."
"Yep!" Aaron grinned. "Reptar's gonna come and tear it down in a few minutes."
"Ooooooh, Reptar does that a lot. Are you sure you should let him?"
"I dunno..."
"And you put all that work into building the city," said Sandra.
"I know, but Reptar also helps build a new city with me after."
"Well that's nice of him."
"And and I have lots of fun!"
"Well Aaron, I have to get back to work now, ok?"
"Ok, Mommy...are you going to be home soon?"
"I'm trying hard to catch the bad guy, honey," said Sandra. "I promise."
"'Kay."
"Could you give Ms. Ashley the phone back for me?"
"Sure." Aaron complied.
"He ok?" asked Sandra.
"A little depressed-seeming," said Ashley as she left the room. "Is everything all right?"
Sandra sighed. "You guessed right at the start. The case is rough."
"Stay safe, ok, Mrs. Abner?"
"I will. I've got to get back to work. But make sure that Aaron isn't sad when Nicholas gets home."
"I will."
"Thanks, Ashley."
"It's no trouble."
"Talk to you later."
"Later."
Sandra hung up and put the phone back in her pocket. She put both hands on her hips, tilted her head back and sighed heavily. A few minutes later, she headed back in to call the French authorities. Hotch and Rossi were still in the conference room. "Records here yet?"
"No, Garcia's on her lunch break for a few more minutes," said Hotch.
"Couldn't she just eat in her lair?" asked Sandra.
"She needs breathing room just like the rest of us," said Rossi.
Sandra nodded. "I'm going to call France in a minute."
"The police aren't happy that we're calling internationally," said Rossi.
Hotch rolled his eyes slightly. "Just tell them we'll pay them back."
"Will do."
"If they ask," said Hotch.
Rossi laughed.
Sandra took a deep breath and called Interpol first. She explained her situation to the same Interpol agent she'd talked to earlier in the investigation.
"You need France now?" asked the incredulous agent.
"Yes."
"They're not going to be very cooperative."
"They will."
"How are you so confident?" asked the agent.
"Parce que je parle leur langue," said Sandra, crossing her arms. (Because I speak their language.)
"Point taken." The agent gave Sandra the number.
"Thanks a bunch, Agent."
"Glad I could help." They hung up.
"And now, to the point," murmured Sandra, vaguely recalling a scene from the Da Vinci Code, one of her favorite books, and laughing. She cleared her throat and dialed.
The officer who answered sounded young. "Bon après-midi, mon nom est directeur Maximilien Lesueur avec la station de police de Paris." (Good afternoon, my name is Officer Maximilien Lesueur with the Paris police station.)
"Mon nom est de Surveillance Agent spécial Sandra Shea Abner avec le Federal Bureau of Investigations à Quantico, en Virginie. Je travaille sur une série de meurtres dans ma région et j'ai besoin de quelques informations," said Sandra. (My name is Supervisory Special Agent Sandra Shea Abner with the Federal Bureau of Investigations in Quantico, Virginia. I'm working on a string of murders in my area and I need some information.)
"Quel genre d'information avez-vous besoin?" asked the officer. (What kind of information do you need?)
"J'ai besoin de dossiers de possession d'armes," said Sandra. (I need records of gun ownership.)
"Je ne peux pas vous aider celles-ci, que je suis juste un officier. Je n'ai pas accès aux dossiers. Mais je vais la main le téléphone à quelqu'un qui le fait. Tenez s'il vous plaît," said the officer, putting her on hold without waiting for a response. (I can't get you those, as I'm just an officer. I don't have access to the records. But I'll hand the phone off to someone who does. Hold please.)
Sandra sighed in exasperation as she waited.
"What's going on?" asked Rossi.
"Pas maintenant, Rossi," said Sandra, holding out one finger. (Not right now, Rossi.) She waited for a while longer until a new voice came on.
"C'est le capitaine Alexandre Chevalier. Que voulez-vous?" asked the new voice curtly. (This is Captain Alexandre Chevalier. What do you want?)
"Mon nom est l'agent spécial de surveillance Sandra Shea Abner et je suis une enquête sur une série de meurtres dans ma région," said Sandra. (My name is Supervisory Special Agent Sandra Shea Abner and I'm investigating a string of murders in my area.)
"Et alors?" (And?)
I'm getting to that. "Nos enquêtes ont montré que notre Unsub-" (Our investigations showed that our Unsub-)
"Qu'est-ce qu'un Unsub?" asked the captain. (What's an Unsub?)
"Unsub signifie 'objet inconnu'. C'est ce que nous appelons de nos suspects avant que nous savons qui il est." Sandra ran her hands through her hair again. (Unsub stands for 'Unknown Subject'. It's what we call our suspects before we know who it is.)
"D'accord." (Ok.)
"Et l'arme de l'Unsub est uniquement disponible dans votre pays et l'Allemagne aussi bien, et nous avons besoin des enregistrements pour tous qui possèdent l'arme, un pistolet Sauer 38H," said Sandra. (And the Unsub's weapon is only available in your country and Germany as well, and we need the records for all who own the gun, a Sauer 38H pistol.)
"Vous savez combien de personnes qui pourraient l'être?" asked the captain incredulously. (You are aware of how many people that might be?)
"Oui, je suis bien conscient." (Yes, I am quite aware.) Sandra drummed her fingers on her leg. "Mais je n'ai besoin que les dossiers pour les femmes entre les âges de trente-cinq et quarante ans." (But I only need the records for women between the ages of thirty five and forty.)
"À l'échelle nationale?" (Nation-wide?)
"Oui."
"Je vais vous donner les dossiers en quelques heures. Cela va prendre un certain temps à compiler. Mais nous sommes au milieu d'une grande enquête nous-mêmes, de l'agent. Alors s'il vous plaît ne pas appeler de nouveau. Je vais vous envoyer un email lorsque je leur ai faxé," said the captain. (I'll get you the records in a few hours. This will take a while to compile. But we're in the middle of a big investigation ourselves, Agent. So please don't call again. I'll send you an email when I've faxed them.)
Sandra gave him the number and her email. "Merci beaucoup, capitaine. Vous avez été d'une grande aide. Je vous souhaite bonne chance dans votre enquête." (Thanks a lot, Captain. You've been a big help. I wish you luck in your investigation.)
"Pour vous aussi. Bonne journée." The captain hung up. (To you as well. Good day.)
Sandra hung up and allowed herself a little celebration. Then she turned to Hotch. "They're going to get me the records in a few hours. The captain said that it'll take a while to compile all of the records and that he'll email me when he sends the fax."
"You've done really well, Abner," said Rossi.
"I think so too. Now let's get through these records," said Hotch, gesturing at the pile of records on the table.
"Oh, the German records arrived?" asked Sandra sitting down across from Hotch.
"That they did. And since you're the only one on the team who knows German and French..." said Hotch gesturing with his hands.
"Oh no..."
Hotch nodded. "I'll get someone to help you. But in the meantime, you're on your own."
Sandra face-palmed.
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"A different language is a different vision of life." - Federico Fellini
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NOTE: Lots of work for Sandra, right? XD She'll get it done.
