A/N: Thank you for all of the reviews, favorites and following alerts. I appreciate you taking the time to read.
Chapter 6
Both the Chiefs, and in their official uniforms the team noticed, walked into the conference room, followed by two plain clothed personnel.
Hotch nodded at them. Chief Grant took the lead. "Agent Hotchner, this Lt. Dylan Meier, my lead investigator. And who by the way first suggested that you folks should be called in." Hotch shook hands with the younger man. Both the police chiefs, while seeming to be quite capable running their departments, had the ring of old school boys that had grew up in the area and knew everyone. Meier looked like an up and coming, knowledgeable LEO.
It was Chief Dancer's turn. "This is my lead investigator Lt. Jessica Hardin. She and Dylan compared notes, sat Clark and I down and kicked our butts to call you folks." Hardin had big city street smart background written all over her forehead.
Hotch shook her hand as well. "Pleasure to meet you as well; good call; both of you." Hardin and Meier smiled. Hotch looked around the room. "This is Chief Tim Dancer of the Lake Delton PD and Chief Clark Grant of the Wisconsin Dells PD." He looked at his team. "Chief Dancer you've already met Agent Taylor." Matt nodded at him. "Chief Grant Matt." They shared a hand shake as well. Hotch looked at the newcomers. "Agent Taylor is my number two." Matt shook hands with both of them.
Hotch politely pointed out the rest of the BAU players. "SSA Rossi is our senior profiler; SSAs Morgan, Blake and Prentiss. And…."
"On keyboards," Matt inserted, using Rossi's line. The team all smiled with Hotch showing his a bit. "On our laptops is our Technical Analyst Penelope Garcia."
"Live and in person from Quantico, VA," Dave added, smiling at Matt.
Just then JJ and Reid walked into the conference room. "And this is SSAs Jareau and Dr. Reid." Hotch got the two of them caught up on the names, explaining why they were late joining them.
"All of you," Matt said, "please don't take our bit of humor as taking this case lightly. You've got, hopefully, a onetime deal. We deal with these people every day. A bit a humor keeps us sane."
Meier looked at them. "How in the hell do you deal with that?"
"Scotch," Dave answered. He got the Cobra finger point as well as the Morgan one. JJ and Reid bumped their go bags with the rest of the teams.
"Back on point," Hotch said.
"Garcia," Matt asked. "You've got news?"
"Yes sir; through my digging I've found a link to the four victims. They all are former employees of the water parks in the area." Blake at the white board with the victim's pictures and the crime scene photos took notes under each name with Garcia's information.
JJ and Reid made their report on what they learned from the ME. Prentiss added those details to the other half of the white board from the kill zone map.
Matt looked at the four locals. "We know, like you, the victims weren't killed at their homes. Any luck finding where they were killed?"
Hardin shook her head. Hotch looked at the police chiefs. "That's something the Sheriff's deputies can check on. They need to find out each victims last known location that they were alive, and re-trace their steps; on foot if need to be. We already know our unsub is a blitz attacker. Finding out where he does this might be a key."
"Advise them though, to be thorough," JJ said. "The blow to head, if it bleeds, is minimal. Our unsub knows how to do with minimal damage; just enough to daze them."
Hardin and Meier shook their heads in agreement. The two chiefs were lost. "Unsub?" Grant asked.
"Unknown subject Clark," Meier answered before the team could. It was very obvious to the team that the younger officers knew their stuff while the older officers were from a different generation.
Chief Dancer shook his head but added, "I'll make the phone calls." He looked at Hotch and Matt and then the team. "As you can tell, our young turks are trying to teach us old dogs new tricks."
Chief Grant shook his head. "Tim, sorta makes retirement look better and better, doesn't it?" Chief Dancer nodded his head in approval. "Do you need us anymore tonight?"
Hotch shook his head. "Why don't the four of you go home, relax, spend time with your families and try and get some sleep. You can join us tomorrow morning. We've got some things to discuss; however, at this point, I think it just needs to be us."
Matt smiled. "This is where we spitball ideas off of each other and start developing a preliminary profile. However, let me give all of you a heads up. We're staying at the Comfort Suites in Portage." He immediately noticed the looks. "Yes, we know, its twenty minutes away, and yes, we normally like to stay closer to a case. However, we don't get much sleep when we're out on cases so the last thing we need….."
Jessica Hardin smiled. "Is staying in a hotel with a bunch of kids running the halls all hours of the night and parents getting together in a room for a party."
Hardin got the Cob finger point. "Boom." Matt gave her and Meier one of his business cards. "Call me if something comes up. I'll take care of the rest of the team." The four locals smiled at the team and began to leave.
Chief Grant rubbed Hotch's shoulder. "I won't sleep the best tonight like the last couple of nights; however, with all of you here, I might sleep a little better. See you in the morning."
"Have a good night Chief," Hotch said.
As the four locals left, Matt looked into his laptop. "You too Wild Thing; we've got a helluva day facing us tomorrow."
"You don't have to tell me twice Matt. Thank you. Take care my luvs." The team joined in wishing Garcia a good night.
As the rest signed off with Garcia, Matt felt his stomach rumble for the need of food. He heard Hotch's as well and looked at his watch. It was nearly six in the evening local time. Seven DC time his head quickly figured. Blake picked up on his actions. "How about Chinese? They have to have one around here."
Matt gave her the Hotchner glare. "You trying to kill me and my guts the first night out?"
Blake looked at JJ. "Not Chinese on the first night. Number two has a very touchy tummy," JJ smiled.
"Hang tough, Agent Blake," Prentiss snarked. "You'll get the lay of the land soon," she smiled.
Damn, I've got a lot to learn around this team.
After much discussion, it was decided that Subway was the option. JJ pulled up the nearest location on her iPhone as Morgan and Matt took their orders. As the two of them walked out the door of the conference room, Rossi said to no one inparticular, "I hate Subway."
"And that's why you ordered a foot long," Reid asked with a smile.
"Shut up kid."
A half hour later, with Matt and Morgan listening to most of their convo while they were making the food run, Morgan started to pass out the sandwiches to each team member, while Matt dug out a pint of milk from a grocery store bag and set it on the table for himself. As he pulled a large bag of chips, some paper plates and some ranch chip dip for the team, Hotch looked at him. Matt smiled at him. "Gotta love small towns Hotch; the Subway is in the same strip mall as the local grocery store."
The team spent the next three hours plus discussing the case as the department office became quiet. Matt looked at his watch again. It read 10:15 local time. The team's bodies were an hour ahead. Fighting off a yawn, he looked at Hotch. "It's time to pull the plug; we all need rest and time adjustment." Hotch nodded his head and they shut down for the night.
A half hour later, he and Morgan pulled the SUVs into the parking lot of their hotel. The third was left at the local PD. They quickly got checked in and headed to their rooms. Dave had a single, which adjoined Hotch and Matt's double room, which the hotel considered a suite. Blake had the same with JJ and Emily. Morgan and Reid, just down the hall, had the same set up.
By a little after eleven local time, there wasn't a light on in any room.
-00CM00-
Matt woke to his cell phone buzzing of a message at 6:20. He didn't need to pick up the phone to know what it would say. Hotch rolled out of his bed to sit on the side in his boxers, rubbing his cheek stubble. "Another victim?"
"Yup," Matt yawned, rolling out looking and feeling the same as Hotch. He sent a text to get the team moving and one to the investigators to have the CSI's not move the body. Putting his cell on the dresser, Matt moved to shave while Hotch showered, making sure first that Dave was up as well.
By seven, the team was assembled in the lobby, Blake with her coffee cup loaded from the hotel's breakfast area. Matt looked at them. "Breakfast is the golden arches by the freeway exit." Twenty minutes later, they all ate as they drove or rode. Prentiss had Hardin on speaker through her iPhone and with the other team members in the other vehicles. Matt, Dave and Blake were in the first vehicle. They would go to the crime scene. The rest would go to their conference room at the LDPD.
"Lt. Hardin, where is the dump site," Hotch asked, wolfing down his second Egg McMuffin.
"At Jamaican Run."
Reid, in the back seat of the same vehicle, with Morgan driving, said, "That's significant. Jamaican Run was the first big property built in Lake Delton just outside of Wisconsin Dells."
"Oh, it's more than that. It's a message to us. 'You're here and I've moved up to the big time'," Dave said.
"Clearly Dave," Hotch acknowledged.
"Agent Taylor," Hardin said, "You just arrived yesterday afternoon. With all due respect to Dr. Reid, how does he know that?"
Matt, trying to get the last of his three Egg McMuffins down, laughed. "First off; let's dispense with the formalities. We're in day two. I'm Matt or Cob; take your pick. And with your accent, I'm guessing you're a Chicago girl Jess."
"Damn you folks are good; and btw Jess works for me Matt." Cob smiled at Dave in the passenger seat.
"As to Dr. Reid; he is our walking fount of knowledge, with an IQ of 186. It's why we keep the skinny kid around."
"More humor to handle the situation, Cob?" Lt. Meier said, obviously on scene as well, even if it wasn't in his jurisdiction.
"That's right Dylan," Matt laughed. "That's my MO. Rossi, Blake and I are ten minutes away."
"Thanks Cob," Jess said. She gave him driving directions to get to the best access point to the crime scene.
As the rest of the team pulled up to the curb of the Lake Delton PD building, Matt eased the Bureau SUV into the crime scene with a Sauk County deputy directing them where to park. Rossi looked at Matt. "The county mounties are here as well? I thought Hotch put that fire out?"
"All communication for Lake Delton PD goes through the Sauk County Sheriff's department." Rossi nodded his head. "They're just back up."
He shook his head. Matt eyed him. "First case in my life they all want to get along."
Matt slightly smiled, pulling off his seatbelt and opening his vehicle door. "Welcome to small town Wisconsin Big Dog." The three agents got out. The Sauk County deputy pointed them into the building.
A clearly back door to the lower facilities of the mega-complex was being held open by another Sauk county deputy, offering the blue gloves to preserve the crime scene. The three agents accepted a pair and the deputy pointed them to the crime scene. Hardin and Meier joined them.
The victim, with the same clear strangulation marks on his neck, was laid out in the massive laundry room of the mega complex. Before they walked in, the three senior agents noticed the workers that were being kept from doing their jobs.
Blake looked at Rossi. "Most of those workers are Hispanic or Oriental."
"There is a huge Hmong population in Wisconsin," Matt explained.
"And I'm sure our unsub isn't after them. It isn't about race," Dave said.
"However it's local and sending a statement," Matt added. Dave no longer needed to verify to his former protégé the job he was doing. Matt Taylor could hold his own with profiling with himself and Hotch. The kid has an A game Dave thought. After eight years, he better damn well.
"But why here," Alex questioned.
"To prove he could," Matt answered.
"And as you said yesterday Matt; a message to us." Matt just nodded at Dave.
Hardin and Meier looked at Blake. "I'm sorry; I may be an SSA; but with this group, I'm the rookie. And the Big Dogs roll with thunder. I'm just here to spit ball with them."
"Seems that word spit ball keeps cropping up with you people," Dylan noted.
Matt smiled. "That's how we do that; we trust each other and bounce ideas off each other. You wouldn't have wanted to sit in with our session last night. And Alex can hang with the rest of us in the profiling; she's just new to the team." As Blake studied the victim, Matt and Dave looked around. "You seeing what I'm seeing?" Dave asked.
"You mean like what we're not seeing; as in security cameras?"
"Boom," Dave said. He and Matt both made a notation, Dave in his notebook and Matt on his phone. "Anything new there Alex?"
She shook her head and rose up. "The victim was just dumped like the others. There's no positioning whatsoever or matches any of the previous dump positions. Did Reid or JJ mention any post mortem bruising from dumping the bodies?"
Matt shook his head. "They didn't but I don't remember anyone bothering to ask. Good point though Alex. Is he literally just dumping them or is he taking the time to lay them down?" He and Dave added to their notes.
Meier looked at Rossi. "Need anything more?" Dave shook his head and Meier waved for the coroner to come in. They left the laundry room and went outside.
Matt turned to the officers. "Do you have an ID of the victim?"
"Not formally but I know who he is," Meier said. The agents looked at him. "He's Mike Bosco; I remember him from my patrol days. I hate to speak ill of the dead, but he's been a pain in the ass in our PD since he was a teenager."
Dave looked around the door. "The entry door doesn't open from the outside; you need a security card to get in."
Matt looked around as well, pointing at a big rock along the wall of the building. "How much you want to bet that door gets propped open for someone to sneak out and have a smoke?" He looked at Hardin. "You should have that dusted for prints as well, just in case." She nodded, getting a tech from the State Crime Lab to join them.
Alex looked around at the lighting. "There's a big light overhead of the doorway," she noted.
"But does it work?" Matt asked.
Meier and Hardin both shrugged. "It was light out by the time we got here."
"Who discovered the body," Matt asked.
"Connie Juarez; she's the laundry shift supervisor. She comes in a half hour earlier than the crew to get some of the equipment going."
"Is she still around?"
"Sure Cob; I'll take you to her." She and Matt went back inside and Hardin found her. Matt smiled at her showing her his credentials. "Good morning Ms. Juarez, I'm Agent Taylor from the FBI. I have just a few quick questions. Does the light above the door work at night?"
"No Agent it doesn't. I carry a flashlight in my purse so I can get my ID swiped to get in the door."
"So it's been out for a while?"
"Yes it has Agent."
Matt smiled. "Thank you ma'am; that's useful information in our investigation. I'm sorry you had to find what you did this morning."
"Agent, please help the police catch who's doing this," she said.
"We're here Ms. Juarez to assist the police so they can do that," he smiled. She smiled back. He and Hardin walked back out.
"And….," Dave asked.
"It's been out for a while. Ms. Juarez carries a flashlight to use the security swipe with her ID." Dave nodded at Alex and added more to his notebook.
Matt looked at Dave and Alex. "We done?" They both nodded. He looked at Hardin. "When you two get done, drop into the conference room. We need to go over some things with you, if you don't mind."
"See you in a bit," Hardin said and Meier nodded his head.
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A/N: The Hmong population in Wisconsin and Minnesota are mainly from Laos.