A/N: First off, I've had a couple people ask about Maggie Porter's nickname. In my little mind, a close "society" like the FBI would have nicknames. A Maggie can sometimes be called Mags for short; and back in the days "porters" carried bags. It just hit me that could be a nickname for her that Dave would know. I'm sorry, but that's the whole story; and I'm sticking to it. :D
And gold stars to my Dutch Delight and my mentor for catching the name of Detective Larson's partner, Virgil Williams aka one of the current writers of CM. When you've written as many of these FFs as I have, you start digging through your brain for secondary characters. Plus, I liked the idea of the three Chicago boys being together. I'm a crazy nut when I'm writing.
Chapter 4
They got out with Matt leaving the SUV running. "Where was Dowd found," Matt asked.
Williams pointed. "That park bench."
Matt looked at him. "Virgil, get back in the SUV. You don't need to get frostbite to help us."
"You sure," Williams asked looking at Matt.
"Go man," Morgan said. Williams got back in the SUV.
They looked around and both noticed the remnants of the cast that were made by the BCA for the footprints. "That won't help much since the unsub was obviously carrying the body," Morgan noted as they started towards the bench. They both studied the footprints more.
"I think this unsub has something wrong with his right hip," Matt pointed, noting the unmeasured steps compared to a normal gait. "I'd like to make sure at the next dump site."
"I think you're right Cob," Morgan said, bending down. "It's not from carrying a body." They looked around more.
"You seeing what I'm seeing Morgan," Matt asked.
"You mean what we're not seeing," Morgan answered.
"Exactly," Matt said. "There's not one drop of blood here."
When they reached the recovery area, Morgan nodded and surveyed the distance from the parking space to the bench. "Well the unsub has obviously been here before so he knows the area."
"What do you think; sixty feet," Matt deduced.
"I'd say that," Morgan concurred. They both looked around. "There's the lights," he pointed.
"But since the rest stop is closed in the winter, I'd bet they cut the electric as well." Morgan nodded. "Do we need more," Matt questioned.
"Nope," Morgan said. "I've got all I need."
"Agreed," Matt said as they headed back to the SUV.
They got in, pulling up the facemask part of their stocking caps. "See anything," Williams asked. Matt backed the SUV out and got it back on Highway 169.
"It's what we didn't see," Matt said. "There's no blood here from the victim."
"We noticed that too," Williams said. "She was killed at a different location. We figured that out."
Morgan turned to look at him. "You're right; but to us, that adds into how we form our profile."
"I don't get it," Williams answered.
"Forgive my analogy," Morgan said. "You see it in black and white; the victim wasn't killed here. Spot on. We see it in color and ask ourselves why the victim was killed elsewhere and dumped here."
Williams smiled. "I'm glad it's you folks dealing with that the psycho stuff and not me." Matt and Morgan smiled.
"Why we get paid the big bucks," Matt said sarcastically.
"And be away from home about half the year," Morgan groused.
Williams asked more questions as Matt drove to the second dump site and pulled in. Matt looked at the digital readout above the rearview mirror. The temperature had dropped six degrees since they landed. "Virgil, was there any blood found here?"
"No there wasn't Matt. This dump site was exactly like the last one."
They quickly got out and checked the prints, noting the same pattern. Morgan looked at Matt. "I'm not a hero either." They both went back to the SUV and talked over the distance from the parking spot to the tree where the victim was found up against, taking the time to note the rest of the scene from the warm SUV. "We good," Morgan asked.
Matt pulled off his stocking cap and gloves and nodded, putting the SUV in reverse. "Yup; conference call in Hotch and Rossi." Morgan did the same with his winter gear and reached for his cellphone.
After Hotch and Rossi both answered, the two of them filled in everyone. Williams sat in the backseat, amazed at what he was hearing that the two agents had noticed.
"Dave is Garcia having any luck," Hotch asked.
"Sorry Hotch; there's no joy in Mudville. Mighty Garcia is striking out."
"Matt we'll start putting it together when you get back," Hotch said.
"No Hotch," Matt said. "When Morgan and I get back, we're going to drop off Virgil and the rest of you are going to be ready to hop in. We're joining Dave and his crew at the Mall and getting something to eat." Just then JJ and Kate's stomach's rumbled with hunger.
"Thanks Cob," Prentiss said. "We'll be waiting."
"Prentiss don't let Hotch give you the glare. That's the call," Matt said. Morgan softly laughed. "We'll give you a heads up when we're getting close."
"Roger that Cob," Prentiss smiled at Hotch, giving her the glare. JJ and Kate smiled at each other.
Matt pulled the SUV onto eastbound I-494 into the teeth of rush hour traffic. While they moved, they certainly didn't buzz along at posted speeds.
"Damn, I think I'm finally thawing out," Morgan commented. "I don't ever remember it that cold in Chicago."
"Neither do I," Williams said. "It's just been brutal around here for the last ten days."
Matt smiled. "That's because you two are Chicago boys."
"Cob," Morgan questioned.
"You both grew up in the city. The buildings provide some buffer from the wind and displace some heat. Out here, you've got open ground to feel the force of the windchill."
"You remember days this cold," Morgan asked.
Matt looked at him. "More than I care to remember; the walk from the farmhouse to the barn and back was damn cold a lot of mornings and afternoons." Matt paused and Morgan could see he was reflecting back; especially when a sentimental smile appeared.
"Story time Cob," Morgan smiled.
Matt laughed. "Every morning and evening when it was this cold, it was always the same. Da and I would walk into the house and grandma would chew him out. "Micheál that laddie needs his muffler about his face mind you," Matt perfectly imitated her voice with the Irish accent.
"Now you don't worry Mary Kate, the laddie's a strapping one; he'll be fine," Matt added with his grandfather's voice.
Morgan and Williams laughed at the story. "Good memories Cob," Morgan asked, rubbing his shoulder.
"The damn best Derek," Matt smiled. "I wouldn't trade those days for all the money in the world. It was a helluva lot better than running with the wrong people back in the neighborhood."
"Cob," Williams asked. Matt smiled that he already picked on the nickname. "Wasn't it cold in the barn?"
Matt shook his head. "With forty cows in their milking stantions three feet apart? You didn't work up a sweat; but you were plenty warm. We didn't need coats or gloves. Just a good flannel shirt and jeans with long underwear and wool socks," he smiled.
The story got them past the bottle neck of I-35 intersecting I-494 and traffic moved quicker. Morgan pulled out his cellphone. "Princess, get the troops ready to go. I'm getting hungry too."
"Got it Morgan," Emily smiled.
Williams smiled at Morgan. "No Southside trash talk about the Cubs against my Sox?"
Morgan shook his head, turning to look at him with a small. "My dad was originally from the Northside and a huge Cubs fan. No trash from me man," he broadly grinned. "But I'll talk the Bulls with you all night." Matt rolled his eyes, shaking his head. Williams looked at Morgan. "Don't get him going about his thoughts on pro basketball; its college hoops or nothing."
"Got it," Williams smiled.
About a half hour later, the rest of the BAU walked into the Mall security office. An officer pointed them to the conference room. Pulling off their coats, Maggie Porter walked in. "Sorry Dave," she smiled, "I couldn't help noticing."
"No problem Maggie," he smiled, making the introductions.
When Dave introduced Matt, she smiled. "I remember you," she smiled, pointing a finger at him. "Your experience in the field as a decorated Marine officer made me feel replaceable."
Matt shook his head. "I learned more from you in a ninety minute lecture than the Marines ever taught me," he said shaking her hand.
Maggie smiled then looked at Hotch. "And you; I remember as a bit of a baby face back then." Hotch slightly blushed. "But I knew you'd go places in the Bureau," she smiled, shaking his hand. "And you found the right mentor to do it."
Hotch broadly smiled. "Please join us for dinner."
Maggie smiled. "I'd love that."
"So Baby Girl," Morgan said, "what are our options?"
Garcia quickly typed into her personal laptop. "Oh there's Benihanna," she smiled.
"Too Oriental," Reid said.
"Still the chopsticks things Spence," JJ asked.
"There's Hooters," Garcia fiendishly smiled.
"No," Prentiss and Callahan said together.
"OMG," Garcia said. "There's a Dick's Last Resort. I've always wanted to go to one. But there's none in the DC area."
Hotch looked at her. "When we finish the case Garcia." She looked at him. "Promise," he smiled.
"Uncle Dave will buy," Matt said with a wink. Garcia beamed. Dave shot him a look.
Maggie laughed. "Let me make this easy for all your different tastes. Twin City Grille is the best. Let me make a quick call and give them a heads up we're coming."
Sitting around the table, they enjoyed a round of drinks, looking over the menus. Reid looked at Maggie. "I read your bio on the way over to the Mall after we landed. Why did you leave the Bureau?"
Maggie smiled. "I'm gay; Lisa, my partner and me have been in a relationship for nearly thirty years now. When I finally felt comfortable enough, and with Bureau rules in place, I came out; I was tired of living in the shadows. But some of my learned colleagues weren't so open minded. I got tired of it."
"Ahhh," Dave said. "The ol' Bureau double standard."
Matt shook his head, taking a drink of his beer. "Yeah JEdgar back in the day could go home and put on a dress."
Maggie laughed, pointing at him. "Tell me it's got better."
Hotch smiled at her, nodding. "We have two openly gay Agents working in the BAU. They are valued assets and part of the family."
Dave looked at her. "Bags, do you get to the DC area?" She nodded. "Give me a call when you do," he smiled. "If we're around, drop in on us down at Quantico."
"You're on Dave," she smiled. "I'd love that."
-00CM00-
They all walked into the conference room with Garcia's Bureau laptop pinging loudly. She quickly sat down. Maggie looked at Hotch. "Mind if I hang around?" Hotch shook his head with a soft smile.
"As Sir Rossi said, there is no joy in Mudville," Garcia said. "I've come up with no matches on the facial recognition software." She looked again. "But hold on; something that Sir Brilliant noticed when my software wasn't working fast enough for him has drawn a second hit. Boy Wonder may be on to something." She quickly typed and two images appeared on the screen in the conference room.
"How'd she get that up there so fast," Maggie asked.
"She hacked your system," Matt smiled. Maggie looked at him. "Trust me; it's all good."
"Reid, what do you have," Hotch asked.
"I noticed this frame that fit in the window that is approximately the time I extrapolated the victims could have been taken given the facts that we know." He went to the video screen. "This is obviously a shorter person, possibly female, that is wearing a cover over head to hide her face from the cameras going out the door." The team looked at him. "Given the weather, not really out of place. But," he said, pointing to the person with her, "that person, obviously male, has his arm around her waist, is hiding his face as well with the ball cap and they are not a couple." He looked at the team. "Garcia run the few seconds before." Garcia did. "That body language is not of a couple," he pointed.
He then pointed to the second frame. "And we've got the same thing for the time of the second victim possibly disappearing." Garcia played that video. "With the same mannerisms."
"Garcia," Prentiss said. "Can you run your digital enhancement to get a height on the hooded person?"
"Already on it Emily the Strange and Great," she said, quickly typing.
Maggie looked at Hotch. "Damn these kids are good," she whispered. Hotch nodded, yet focused on what the team was looking at.
"Bingo," Garcia said. "Both are five foot eight."
"Hang on," Dave said, looking closer at the time stamp. "While the kids were doing their video work, I was reading through the security transcripts from all of the personnel. I noted something that stuck out. But it'd take me a while to find it again."
Garcia grabbed his laptop and quickly typed. "I need parameters sir."
"Both were in a food court; with a man acting out. The initial reports from Mall staff and customers, on alert with the terror threat, said the guy acted crazy. Before the officers could arrive on scene, witness reports said a second man calmed the man down and they moved away." Garcia typed more and pulled up the two reports.
"The time of those reports is about fifteen minutes before our 'couple' left," Callahan said.
"Garcia…" Hotch said.
"Already on it my liege." Using the time stamp and location from the reports, she quickly pulled up the two security videos, running them side by side.
Matt shook his head. "First mistake dickheads; wear different clothing including your baseball caps."
"Whoa, wait a minute," JJ said. "We have a three person team?"
Matt looked at her. "Jayje, what's the first thing Dave pounded into your head?"
"We use what we have learned before to form our analysis; that doesn't mean we can't learn more," she rattled off.
"Boom," Matt said. "And the next thing he said was…"
"There's no cookie cutters to unsubs; they all aren't alike. We just analyze their behavior and learn from everyone."
Dave smiled at Maggie. "I had a couple of them that paid attention."
"You sure damn well did Dave. Where does that take you?"
"To our hotel rooms," Matt said before Hotch could say a word, looking around at the team. "I'm beat; Abbey and I were up half of last night with Col and his nasty head cold." He looked at Hotch. "And I know you've got the same with Jack. Be it the classroom or the school bus, it's all spread germs 101."
JJ frowned. "I got a text from Will; Henry is starting with the same thing. And he said that a couple years back about daycare."
"And the boys go to the same school and ride the same bus," Garcia noted.
"Meg is battling the same thing," Kate said. "I was up with her twice last night."
Morgan looked at Hotch. "Cob is right; Savannah fell into bed exhausted last night; she battled that stuff with kids in the ER her entire shift."
"And we don't need to get it with a lack of sleep," Dave added, looking at Hotch. "This case is too big Aaron. We all need to get some sleep. We can pick this up in the morning."
"And put a profile together by noon," Matt added. That earned him the Rossi point.
"Get your asses out of my office," Maggie growled. "My staff doesn't need your damn DC bugs."
Hotch relented with a smile at her. "Let's call it a night."
###
A/N: The Cubs are the pro baseball team that play at Wrigley Field on the north side of Chicago. The White Sox's stadium is on the south side. The Bulls are the Chicago pro basketball team.
Sorry folks; going back to my baseball roots more. Casey at Bat is an American poem by Ernest Lawrence Thayer. The classic line of the poem that is still repeated in American baseball folklore is "there was no joy in Mudville; mighty Casey struck out".
Dick's Last Resort will be explained in a later chapter.
Hooter's is ummmm Hooter's. Basically a beer and chicken wing place, it's claim to fame is it's female servers in skimpy t-shirts and tight cut shorts, showing off their breasts and legs. Did you catch the reference to chicken parts? :D
JEdgar is a reference to the longest serving director of the FBI; J. Edgar Hoover. By day, he was a staunch conservative that could not tolerate alternative life styles or anything that remotely seemed perverse or smacked of extra martial affairs. He did many secret investigations of JFK and his brother Bobby, trying to find dirt on them. And Senators and Congressmen didn't escape his witch hunts as well. He was known for years as the most influential man in DC politics. He was not afraid to make or break careers. And Robert Kennedy, as JFK's Attorney General, was Hoover's boss. To say they didn't get along is an understatement. After he died and some years later through the Freedom of Information Act, secret photos were revealed of him being a huge cross dresser in his home.
The culture/atmosphere of the Bureau that Maggie Porter faced back in her day is writer's prerogative. But my gut tells me its spot on.