Derek came back from forensics with the file containing the results. He rejoined the others in their own personal conference room.
"There was nothing. Not a fingerprint, not a hair or dead skin cell. He used gloves, and the note was typed on a typewriter so it can't be tracked to any specific printer. This guy knows how to hide."
"Anything from the postal marks?" JJ asked.
"No, apparently it was dropped off at one of the mailing boxes around town. No tracking numbers, no leads." He sighed as he tossed the file from the test results on the table.
"The fact that he knows how to cover his tracks means he either is or was in law enforcement of some kind." Rossi stated.
"Is that possible? An officer gone postal?" Joshua asked with a look of shock on his face.
"Actually it's not as bizarre as it sounds. Around 58% of police officers develop PTSD, and over 74% of those become prone to violent outbursts." Reid stated casually. Joshua looked at him curiously.
"How do you know all that?"
"I have an eidetic memory. I remember everything I've ever read." Joshua nodded, surprised.
"I can think of a few tests that would've made that nice to have." He said, trying to diffuse an awkward situation. Morgan got Garcia and quickly put her on speakerphone.
"Speak, mere mortals! I am at your command." She proclaimed.
"Garcia we need you to look into the backgrounds of the police officers in the area for any history of violence or mental illness, who also had a spouse divorce or separate from them recently. Something would've triggered them to start killing." Hotch said.
"I'm on it, but I warn you it may take a little while to find something."
"Try to focus on locals, or officers who have lived in the area for several years. Focus on ones who'd have an intimate knowledge of the area."
"Alrighty, I'll be back as soon as I get something." They heard the click of the receiver, and went back to the profile.
"Derek, can I speak to you for a minute?" Hotch said, more as a statement than a question. Derek and Hotch stepped out of the room and went down the hall where they wouldn't be disturbed.
"What you did with Bostick was out of line. Both the arrest and storming into the interrogation room the way you did."
"Hotch, that guy was lying half the time and preaching the other half. Alright fine maybe I shouldn't have handled it the way I did, but just talking to him wasn't working."
"But he wasn't lying. And to use the evidence that way was completely irresponsible. It could've been contaminated by Bostick or you or anything else. Your priority should've been to take it to the lab, not use it to intimidate and sicken the suspect. And to bring him in without being given permission was a big risk. One that you shouldn't have taken."
"Hotch, we're running out of time. He could've found another victim by now and was going to torture her the way he did with the others. I felt that it outweighed the risks."
"You had no reason not to wait approval."
"You would've said no!" Derek demanded.
"Actually if you had followed the proper procedure and waited for my answer, I would've said yes. Doing that was irrational and dangerous." Derek was silent, but he was furious. Hotch could see it in his face. Derek felt that he'd done the right thing and he understood that, but there are rules and all sorts of red tape that had to be considered. If not, who knows what Strauss could do to Derek's career, or to the team for that matter. Hotch already knew he'd be hearing from her when they got back (if not sooner), but he wanted to make sure she had as little to shout about as possible. And he didn't want to give her any reason to change the team. Hotch sighed and looked away.
"We'll discuss this later." Derek brushed past him and back into the room with the others. Hotch opened up his wallet and stared at the picture of Jack and Haley. Tomorrow is his birthday, and he won't be there- again. He thought about his son and how much he missed him.
Did his present show up on time?
Hotch pushed these thoughts from his mind and rejoined everyone, hoping he could get back home to Jack soon.
"Emily, I want you and Derek to go speak with the families of the victims again, see if there is anything that they can tell us about the night they were abducted. JJ, take care of the press if you can. Chances are if he sent us a package, he sent them something too. He wants to be noticed; he doesn't care about hiding anymore. Reid, I want you, Rossi and Officer Perry to go over the case files with what Garcia finds. See of anything overlaps." They got ready to begin their assigned tasks and Hotch walked over to the board and stared at the trail of evidence, looking for any clue that they may have missed.
"Agent Hotchner, maybe I should take agent Prentiss. The roads to most of the homes are back in the hills. They're very easy to get lost on." Joshua offered. Hotch nodded, considering his point.
"Are you sure?" Derek said. "Joshua lives and works in the area. He could help us narrow down the suspect list."
"No he's right, the GPS in the car is inaccurate too often to risk you both getting lost up there. We don't have the luxury of time right now. Emily, you and Joshua go interview the families. Derek, you work with Reid and Rossi." Hotch said. Joshua and Emily jumped into an SUV, as the others went to work.
