CHAPTER TEN: "They're more like inferences"
October 16th - Las Vegas, Nevada
Reid and JJ were the last to walk in to the large, smiling at the rest of the team, along with Bella and LJ.
"Now that you're here, let's order lunch quickly before settling in. We've got a deli, a pizza place and a Japanese place close by." Bella said quickly, always the one for no-nonsense.
"Deli sandwiches are good." Hotch answered with his back to the table, his focus on the bulletin board in front of him. Bella nodded and stuck her head out the door, yelling out to a passing officer to call their order in.
"What have we found so far?" Hotch asked, turning back to his team. One by one they took turns describing their respective crime scenes, from the dump site to everything approximately a mile in every direction.
"Our unsub must be using an ATV to dump the body. There were trails near each confirmed victim and there's no other way he could sneak in and out with the bodies any other way." Prentiss said to the room, Morgan nodding quickly.
"Well ATVs are not allowed in the section of the park where Duchamp's was found and the Forest Rangers are very strict about that. I find it hard to believe someone got past all the blockers and such." Bella said with a shake of her head.
"What about the rangers' ATVs with those extended beds? LJ mentioned them when we were at Duchamp's site. The bed's the perfect size to fit a body and having that vehicle will bypass those blockers and any rules." Prentiss questioned.
"You think our unsub is a ranger?" JJ asked back. Suddenly LJ ran from the room, not bothering to excuse himself like he usually does.
With a shrug from Bella Reid picked up from JJ. "I don't think so. If our unsub was any member for the Park and Rec department his comfort zone would be just the parks. Frankland's body was not found anywhere near a park. And their schedule doesn't allow for the specific time frame he needs to inflict that kind of damage. If our unsub-" Reid stopped as LJ pushed the door open again, a small print-out in his hand.
"Where'd you go?" Bella asked.
"You mentioned a Ranger's ATV. I remembered talking to Donovan about a report he received awhile ago of a stolen one from a nearby storage unit. It was there for a tire change. One of the rangers stopped by to pick it back up but the garage lock was picked and the ATV was gone."
"Any leads on whom?" Rossi asked as he flipped idly through the photos of the picked lock and ATVs."
"Not a clue. No fingerprints or tire tracks."
The room fell silent for a few moments as everyone stared at the faces on the bulletin board, along with the few photos of the crime scenes. A young officer knocked on the door, pushing it open quietly as he placed a platter of American heroes, potato salad and deli-sliced pickles on the table before leaving without a word.
"Let's start a profile on what we've got. After lunch we'll split up again and re-interview the families." Hotch said, leaving no room for argument. As the team grabbed a piece of the hero and settled in Morgan started. "We're looking for a white male, somewhere between the ages of 40 and 50."
"He lives in Summerlin. It's a clear comfort zone. And he's lived here, or a neighboring town, for most, if not all his life." Reid added as he pointed to the map that was covered in red pins for the dump sites and yellow pins for the victims' homes.
"Why narrow it so much? Why can't he be someone who moved here ten years ago or something like that? Why a local?" Bella asked with a tinge of annoyance at the thought that their unsub could be someone who's been under their noses for years. Being born and raised in Summerlin, she didn't like the thought of someone she's seen passing the streets, eating at the diner or even held a conversation with could be such a heartless killer.
"Well he's comfortable kidnapping people in broad daylight, meaning he's had plenty of time learning traffic flow, their daily routines, where police tend to patrol, and so on. The fact that he knew he'd need an ATV to dump the bodies, knew when to go so that he wasn't seen, knew what trails were often used, and was able to steal the ATV, store it and drive it around without getting caught means he's a long-time local that no one would think twice about seeing. Not to mention he has to keeping his victim somewhere no one will bother going to and who knows abandoned sites better than a kid who grew up in this town. On top of that, he's taken two victims from their jobs outside of Summerlin, which also leads credence to the fact that he's a local because he not only knows Summerlin in and out, but also it's neighboring towns." Reid stopped and took a bit of the sandwich in his hands, obvious to the incredulous stares of LJ and Bella as he spew out information almost too fast for their brains to follow.
LJ cleared his throat. "Well that clears that one up. So a white male who's grown up here? That's got be a long list of suspects, even with the age gap thrown in. I mean, I graduated with nearly 300 in my high school class, so that's at least 300 people in their 30s. I'm sure the amount in their 40s to 50s isn't much smaller. Summerlin's a big town and all the ordering towns aren't much smaller."
"Can you search based on someone of Swedish descent? His "calling card" is that weird Swedish phrase and since you're saying he's a local he can't be an immigrant." Bella asked as she reached over the table to grab another pickle.
Rossi shook his head. "I don't think we should just assume he's automatically Swedish. I could easily use any search engine to translate a phrase to any language I want. Nothing else points to him being Swedish. And he's only using that one phrase over and over again. If Swedish was his native tongue, or a second language, why not communicate more to us than just one phrase over and over again?"
"Okay…so we haven't narrowed this list down at all." LJ said as he hung his head slightly.
"We do know he's a control freak; none of the injures he gives them are life threatening and he choices to kill his victims with cyanide. He has complete control over when they die. This mentality of wanting complete control will take over all aspects of his life. His coworkers, family, and friends are bound to notice this." Rossi stated.
"But how do we narrow a search down by personality traits?"
"We don't. Not yet at least. Once we've narrowed the parameters more and given out our profile to all the police officers, we'll do a press release with these added, personality traits. And we'll know more about him as a person once we figure out why these victims."
Bella let out a heavy sigh before getting up and walking over to the bulletin board. "We have no idea how they're connected. I've compared everything from previous jobs and social media likes to where they went to school and where they do their grocery shopping. There's nothing that overlaps on all four."
"He had to have met all these people somehow. And he has to know a lot about them since he found the perfect opportunities to abduct them." Prentiss added. "These victims had to have crossed his path enough times and with enough impact that he decided to target them."
"But at the same time, all the victims are somewhat local figures. Everyone knows Duchamps; he was big news when he moved his business to the US. And all the locals know Frankland and Black from local TV, newspaper and radio ads. If our guys a local like you say, it still means it could be anyone." LJ added as he stood up and threw out his and Bella's garbage. Bella smiled and thanked him quietly before picking up from where he left off. "And both Black and Frankland worked in areas full of controversy and lawsuits. They've crossed paths with hundreds of people."
Rossi sighed. "Okay, we won't know how they're connected till we get more info from their families. If we can get a clear idea of who the unsub is we can get a clearer image of why he's targeting people at all."
"We know the unsub has a job where he can be home for long periods of time to torture his victims. But he also has to kill and dump his victims on a set schedule." Morgan started before being interrupted by Bella.
"Fine, but here's something I don't get," Bella paused, making sure she had Morgan's attention. "Why does following a schedule with killing mean he has a time-sensitive job? Maybe he's got some weird OCD? Or what if he only gets entertainment out of them for a week?"
"Because Duchamps was dead for 48 hours before our unsub dumped his body. Why hold on to his body for two days while Frankland was dead only four hours before being dumped? The only thing that explains that inconsistency is a consistency in his time spent at and away from home. So he works a job where he either has to travel or can work from home on and off." Hotch answered for Morgan.
"I don't know. It's not that I'm questioning your skills or anything. I just don't think making assumptions like what job he works or even his age will help us. What if we end up taking him off our suspect list because he doesn't fit your profile?"
LJ looked down nervously before placing a land on Bella's knee and squeezing softly, a comforting gesture he had become accustom to doing when he sees her stressing out.
Prentiss smiled sympathetically at LJ before speaking up. "It's true that profiles can be wrong. It's rare but does happen. If we didn't make some jumps, some assumptions, the unsub will be left a mystery for far too long."
"And assumption really isn't the correct word. They're more like inferences; educated and supported guesses." Reid added quickly.
"Well. The only way we can back up our, inferences, is by collecting more data. We'll stay in the same groups as before. JJ and Reid, go interview Frankland's husband. Ask if she had any issues with previous or current cases. Rossi and Morgan, you two go interview Black's partners. Look for any disgruntled employees or patients. LJ and Prentiss, you two can talk to Duchamp's wife. She only speaks French but I'm sure you can handle translating over video-chat. Bella and I will go talk to his business partner." Hotch stood up from the table, signaling for everyone to disperse.