Chapter Nine: You'll Be Okay
The BAU was alive with activity. The FBI's elite team of profilers were gathered in the conference room waiting to be briefed on the case that they would be working on the next few days. They'd had nearly managed to get to lunch before the call came in. As such, many of them were eating and they waited for Hotch to come. He had told JJ that he would be there shortly but needed to make a phone call first.
"OK, Reid you stay there and consult from the hospital. I hope your mother gets well soon." Hotch spoke into the phone as he entered the conference room. The team had another case. This one was in Nevada not far from where Reid was visiting his mum after finding out she was ill. He arranged for Garcia to send the files to Reid so that he could look over the case notes while he waited for the team to land.
"We have two dual murders in Winchester, Nevada." Garcia announced showing the team the relevant photos at Hotch's nod. Pictures of two couples filled the screen. The technical analyst tried not to look at it.
"It says that the cause of death in all four cases was a single gunshot to the head.." Morgan commented "Do we have a name for the victims?"
"Yes, we do. The first couple were called Andrea and Robert Davis both 38. The next couple were called Madison and David Wright again both 38." Garcia answered giving Morgan a look of betrayal. How could he imply that she, The Queen of Tech, would not have the answers?
"It's interesting. The women were shot in the middle of the forehead and the men were shot in the temple." Persephone replied, "Are we sure these aren't murder-suicides?"
"That's what Winchester PD thought at first but when the second one came in a few days later they knew it was something different. There's something else too." Garcia replied. She gave them a minute to spot what she was aiming at knowing it was better for the profile.
Prentiss' eyebrows rose in intrigue while JJ let out a sad sight.
"Both couples had kids and they saw the whole thing."
"Allison Wright the aunt of the second child has signed off on a cognitive interview. JJ you will take care of that when we land. Reid's still visiting his mother so he will consult via the phone. Wheels up in twenty." Hotch ordered.
One the jet Persephone's phone rang. A quick look at the number showed that it was Reid ringing her. She smiled and answered.
"Hey there Spen, how's The City that Never Sleeps?" She asked him. The light chuckle was mellifluous to her ears.
"It's the same as always." Reid replied, "Though luckily I am getting some sleep."
"I'm glad to hear it. What about your mum though? How is she doing?"
"She's doing better. I'm a bit concerned that her temperature hasn't gone down yet but the doctor says he's got it under control."
"Well, that's good. Is everything else all right with her? I know you said that you were worried that her medications weren't working."
"Yeah I spoke with her doctor first thing and she says that they going to try a combination and see what that does."
Persephone looked up to see Hotch single her. They were going to do a de-brief before they landed.
"Hotch wants us to start talking about the case. You wanna join?"
There was a sound of someone speaking off to the side before Persephone heard Reid talk to them. Then his voice got louder as he turned back to the conversation.
"Yeah defiantly. My mom's asleep so I should have time." Reid answered.
Persephone put Reid on speaker before setting the phone on the side. After a quick getting by the team, the conversation turned back the case in hand.
"I noticed that the cause of death is a gunshot in both cases and that it is aimed to look at suicide. Both victims had gunshot residue but there wasn't as much as you would expect from the gun highlighted in the MA's report. That suggests it is murder." Reid advised.
"But the children were left alone in both cases so the unsub's not a family annihilator. He's posing double homicides and murder suicides and they make the children watch. Why?" Morgan asked.
"He could be emulating past trauma. The fact he kills the women first isn't likely to form a coincidence." JJ suggested.
"If that's the case the victims likely representing the Un-subs parents, but we don't know that for sure. If we aren't careful we could prejudice our profile." Persephone added.
"There must be something connecting out victims besides being parents that is." Prentiss commented.
"We should be able to gain a better understanding of them when we land." Rossi replied.
Hotch nodded.
"It's a long flight. Get some rest. And Reid?"
"Yes sir?"
"I hope your mother gets well soon. Call me if you need extra time."
Persephone ended to phone call and watched as the team switched to relaxation. Morgan put his headphones on a began listening to whatever playlist he decided this time. JJ went back to her book The Water Code which was about a mysterious underwater world. Prentiss was messing about with some sort of puzzle she was trying to solve (she wasn't succeeding) and Rossi and Hotch chattered quietly. Persephone closed her eyes. The low hum of the jet's engine made her sleepy. Her eyelids felt heavy and soon she was asleep.
Persephone was awoken by someone shaking her shoulder. She yawned and stretched before jumping in embarrassment when she noticed that Hotch was the mystery person. Great. Persephone really wanted to be woken up by her boss. This was really embarrassing.
"Are you all right Ambrose?" Hotch asked his left eyebrow raising slightly.
"Yeah, I'm fine. I'm sorry." Persephone apologised rubbing her eyes.
"No need to apologise, Ambrose, you obviously needed it." Hotch commented. He gave her an appraising look before he asked him a question.
"Are you getting enough sleep, Ambrose?"
Persephone nodded. Truth be told she didn't get as much sleep as she normally did. She had spent a majority of the night tossing and turning, being too hot than being too cold. When she had finally got to sleep, it hadn't been long before she had been awoken again by her alarm.
"I slept fine." She responded.
"Right." Hotch answered, his tone implying that he didn't fully believe her. "Come on. We've got work to do. The rest of the team is waiting for us."
Persephone put her backpack over her shoulder and followed her boss out of the jet trying to quell the blush she felt in her cheeks. If having her boss waking her up wasn't embarrassing enough then holding up the team just took the damn biscuit.
"I guess you guys are the famous BAU. I'm Detective Clive Harrison."
"Yes. I'm Agent Hotchner these are Agents, Rossi, Ambrose, Morgan, Prentiss, Jareau and Doctor Reid."
Detective Harrison tightened his jaw. Clearly, he wanted to say something but decided better of it. Instead, he directed them to a room set aside for the team.
The lead detective clearly wasn't happy about their presence. It didn't bother the team. They were after all used to the local law enforcement resenting their presence. Often they preferred to solve the case. Anyway, he seemed to be willing to work with them without any problems despite his feelings on the matter so they couldn't fault him for that.
"Detective Harrison. I heard that Allison Wright has approved a cognitive interview."
"Yes, providing that she is present and that her niece's welfare is the priority."
"That is a given. Perhaps you could show Agent Jareau to a quiet room so she can do the interview." Hotch suggested.
"Of course. I will direct Mrs Wright to the room when she arrives." Detective Harrison answered and waited for JJ to follow him.
"We need to work out a connection between the victims other than their age." Rossi reminded them once JJ had left.
"We also need to figure out how he is choosing his victims. How does he know they have children?" Morgan added.
Hotch thought for a second. The fact he knew that each couple had children and knew the individual victims' age was interesting. It spoke to greater involvement in their lives than just a passing reference. That kind of information was more likely to be known amongst people you spent a majority of the day with. Like those, you work with.
"Detective Harrison." He asked noticing that the Detective had entered the room again. Harrison gave him greeted him a nod and maintained eye contact to show that the Unit Chief had his attention.
"What is it, Agent Hotchner?" He asked.
"What jobs did the victims have?"
"Andrea was a Nurse and Robert was a Lawyer. Madison and David Wright were a Pilot and an accountant respectively."
"Do you know the first victims?" Persephone asked noticing the lack of formality when referencing the first couple.
"I did. Bob and Rae were my friends, so I hope you catch this guy. They were really starting to make a go of it too." He answered.
Rossi rose his eyebrows at his answer.
"What do you mean they were really starting to make a go of it?"
"Bob told me they were doing couples counselling. They both said that it was going well. Listen don't tell anyone that the last thing their son needs right now is the gossip." Detective Harrison replied. Hotch assured him the information would be kept on a need-to-know basis unless the situation changed. The detective seemed to accept that answer.
After Harrison left the room Hotch rang Garcia. The cherry technical analyst's voice greeted them. It made them smile. Penelope Garcia was the cheery break they needed and the glue of the team.
"Spill the beans captain-chino!"
"Garcia did the second victims attend marriage or couple counselling?"
"They did." Garcia answered after a few seconds.
"If he is going after those in couples counselling then there's likely a reason." Prentiss commented.
"Maybe he thinks he is rescuing the children. Maybe his parents were divorced, and he wants to stop children growing up in that environment?" Morgan proposed.
They were interrupted by the entrance of JJ who seemed to have discovered something.
A few minutes ago…
The chosen room was the precinct's family room. It wasn't long before Allison Wright and her ten-year-old niece Harper. She was a sweet little thing with black eyes and brown hair with a little bow on the top. The haunted look in her eyes pulled at JJ's heartstrings. No matter how long she was an agent it was always hard to see that look in the eyes of one so young.
"Hello, Harper. My name is Jennifer." She introduced. "I'm going to do something known as a cognitive interview. It's a fancy name but really what it means is that I need you to think back to what happened and use all your senses. It may be scary but you're safe and your aunt is going to be here the entire time."
"I'll try."
JJ smiled "If you want to stop you just let me know. I want you to close your eyes. Try and focus your mind on the sound and smells around you as well as what you see."
"Mom and Dad are tied up." Harper replied
"OK, what happens then?"
"Mom is crying. Dad's angry. He's coming over!"
"Who is it, Harper?" JJ asks though she already suspects who it is. Harper confirmed her suspicions with her answer.
"The bad man." Harper answers. "He's coming over! I'm scared!"
"It's OK Harper you're safe. He can't hurt you." JJ reassured. "What's happening?"
"He's got a bag. He's putting it over my head. I can't see anything!" Harper began to panic. She was twisting the fabric of her dungaree dress.
"It's all right. You can't see anything but what can you hear?"
"He's saying sorry."
"That's really good Harper. We can use that."
"There are two loud bangs. I want to stop!" Harper begged.
JJ immediately let the aunt comfort the girl. She had enough information now anyway. Harper cried into her aunt's arms. JJ rubbed her back and the two work together to soothe the crying child. When she had calmed down, she looked into Harper's eyes.
"Harper sweetie, you did really well. You were very brave, and you have helped me."
"Are you going to catch the bad guy?" Harper asked
"I am going to try my very hardest to." She answered not wanting to lie to the girl but wanting to reassure her too. She left the room and went back to where the rest of the BAU were. Apparently, she had just missed a phone call from Garcia who had reported that both sets of parents were attending couples counselling.
"Maybe he thinks he is rescuing the children. Maybe his parents were divorced, and he wants to stop children growing up in that environment?" Morgan proposed.
"They were wrong." JJ interrupted.
"Who was wrong?" Persephone asked.
"Whoever wrote that the children saw everything. The Unsub covered Harper's face before he shot them" JJ explained.
"That doesn't make any sense. Why bring the child into the room, tie the three of them up so they can't move and yet cover the child's eyes so they can't see what happens?" Prentiss asked.
"I've just come from speaking to corner. He thinks that the amount of gunshot residue implies the unsub covered their hands as they took the shot." Rossi reported.
"So, he's making them take the shot. He's making the dad kill the mom and then making them shoot him." Prentiss concluded.
Hotch looked at his watch. It was getting to be a bit late and they were hungry and tried.
"Right. Well, we can continue this tomorrow." Hotch announced. They needed to check in to the hotel before it closed. His team was hungry and tired. While they needed to catch the unsub, they were no good to the case if they didn't look after themselves.
After a Chinese takeaway and a quick shower, Persephone decided to phone Reid.
"Percy? Is everything all right with the case?"
"Hey Spen. Everything is fine with the case. Hotch has ordered us back to the hotel. I'm calling to check up on you."
"I'm good. Mom's doing better. Her new meds seem to be effective but it's still too soon to tell."
"That's good. She's lucky to have you Spen. You take care of her so well."
"I'm lucky to have her. Besides no one else is going to look after her." Reid answered.
"Oh?" Persephone answered.
"My dad walked out when I was ten. It's just been the two of us since then." He explained.
"Well, he made a mistake to miss out on the two of you." Persephone answered.
That was enough talk about family for the both of them. They chattered a bit about a few minutes before Persephone said that she needed to go to bed and Reid wanted to check on his mum again before going to his room.
The next day, the team convened in their assigned room and quickly got to work establishing a profile. Morgan suggested that unsub's parents were involved in a murder-suicide. JJ added that since both couples were at couples counselling then he likely either volunteered or worked at couples counselling groups.
Garcia rang the team and soon her face filled the screen.
"I've just spoken to Reid. He suggests that the un-sub is trying to rescue himself from the pain of watching his dad shoot his mom and then his dad."
"OK, Garcia. We think that the unsub likely was either employed or volunteered at counselling groups. Please compose a list of all those in Winchester." Hotch replied.
There were a few taps before Garcia sighed and spoke again.
"There are too many hits Boss. Can we narrow it down?"
"Harper confirmed that the unsub is male." JJ answered.
"His parents died when we were young. The children were 10 years old, so it was likely at that age he lost them."
"Cross-reference that to the age of the victim."
"Two hits." Garcia replied. "One man's parents were killed in a murder-suicide. He was 10 and saw the whole thing. Two weeks ago, his girlfriend committed suicide. Martin Keens. I've sent his address to your phone. Stay safe crime fighters."
Unfortunately, Keens was not at his place of work or his home address. After a quick conversation with his boss, they discovered that he had resigned. His neighbour also reported that he had left his house in a panic and had driven off like a bad man.
"This is bad." Persephone commented as she entered the precinct. "He's panicking and that might mean he's escalating."
"He's going to kill again but this time he might hurt the kid. Damn it!" Morgan shouted going to punch a nearby wall but stopping at the last minute.
"Morgan! Calm down and take a walk." Hotch ordered.
Morgan opened his mouth to argue but when Hotch turned his 'I'm-completely-serious-don't-argue' glare he let out a huff and stormed out of the room. No doubt the two would have words about that later but right now he needed to calm down because he was no help to anyone when he was like that.
Persephone watched as Morgan left. In all honesty, she could understand his frustration. They had worked out who their unsub was and yet their job wasn't over yet. If they weren't quick he would kill more people. It was a race against time to work out whom the unsub was going after.
Once Morgan returned the team gathered the precinct in order to brief them. He had calmed down though still had a face like thunder. It was important to seem like a united front in front of the local police because otherwise, it was easy for mistrust to start brewing. That was dangerous, especially when it came down to situations like this where time was literally against them.
"We are looking for 38-year-old Martin Keens. A picture is being passed around now." Hotch announced.
"His work and home addressed are also recorded for you, but it is unlikely that he will go there." Rossi added.
"He is going after couple engaging in couples counselling practically ones with children. He has not harmed the children thus far, but his behaviour suggests that he is panicking so this may change." Prentiss put in.
"People should stay indoors and not answer the door. They should also report if they see Keens. We must find him in time. Thank-you." Hotch ordered before leaving the group. He entered their room and watched as his team followed.
The team knew that while the BOLO would help matters, it would likely get them there too late. They needed to work out whom the unsub would go after. Hotch called Garcia so that she could help narrow down the search. Reid was also patched in.
"We profiled that he was working at a couples counselling. Maybe he had other motives for killing those in couples counselling than the fact it was easier for him. Garcia, did his parents attend couples counselling?" Reid suggested.
"Yes! They did but they died three years ago." Garcia admitted.
The small glimmer of hope was dashed until Persephone spoke.
"If he can't go after his parents' counsellor he might try to go to the nearest substitute. Did the counsellor have any children that went on to be counsellors?"
"Yes. His daughter did. She's married and has a seven-year-old son. I've sent her address to your phones."
"Prentiss, Ambrose go to the house." Hotch ordered.
Within seconds the two of them were hurtling down the road with their sirens blaring. They were packed up by a few police cars. Prentiss went in front and Persephone went in the back each accompanied by an officer. One of the officers ushered the child out of the house to safety.
With the boy safe, Prentiss tried to talk him down. It wasn't working. He was getting more and more upset even when she tried putting her gun away to show that she didn't want to hurt him.
"Put the gun down Martin." Persephone warned. "I don't want to hurt you, but I am not going to let you hurt anyone else. Put down the gun or I will shoot."
Keens ignored her and raised the gun at Prentiss, his finger on the trigger. He went to shoot her, but Persephone was quicker. She fired her gun and Keens dropped to the floor. As Prentiss went to deliver first aid, Persephone was aware of the police officers radioing in for first aid before she ran forward to let release the couple. She could deal with the fact he had ended another human life later. She had a job to do.
After a quick debrief with Hotch and promising to fill out the proper paperwork and follow the correct procedures she headed towards one of the SUVs. She had asked Hotch if it was Ok to go and speak to Reid before they left. Her boss agreed, providing she made it back for the jet's take-off. As Keens had been killed they needed to go back to Quantico to ensure that the shot was clean. He told her there was no need to worry. It was standard procedure. With any luck, she would have her gun back with her within a day or so.
Reid seemed to already know that she was coming, or he was expecting it at any rate. When she got there, she hadn't been met with a look of surprise but a cup of tea. It wasn't very good tea and the polyester cup made her feel like she was in the scene in The Apprentice when the losing team went to that crap café at the end. She apricated the gestor, nonetheless.
"Prentiss phoned me and told me what happened." Reid explained when Persephone raised a sceptical eyebrow at him.
"He wasn't my first." Persephone informed him.
Reid had figured that. She had worked for Interpol for seven years before she joined the BAU. It would make sense that she would have shot someone before. Killed someone before. That didn't make it any easier though. He told her that.
"You know Hotch told me once that you don't always need a gun to kill someone. Sometimes we can use the profile."
"That makes me feel better." Persephone answered sarcastically.
"What I mean to say is that sometimes you have to do what you have to do. You did the right thing."
"I know. He could have shot Prentiss or one of the hostages." Persephone responded.
"Or he could have shot you. None of us like taking a life but sometimes we have to." Reid reminded.
"I think I'm going to be all right."
"You will be. And even if you're not, I'll help you be ok." Reid promised.
Persephone smiled and thanked him quietly. She was sure that she would be OK but the idea that Spen would help her was a pleasant thought. It wasn't like she would take him on the offer yet. She just wasn't used to relying on people. She'd always looked after herself and she wasn't going to stop now. That didn't mean that she hated the idea of Reid helping her.
If he was honest, Reid knew that Persephone wouldn't ask for help. After the previous weekend, he had learnt a bit more about her childhood and it wasn't good. Even the little he discovered told him that she had been used to relying on herself. He'd be a hypocrite if he criticised her for it. He too tended to try and do everything himself. He had got better at that in recent years thanks to the BAU family. Reid guessed he would just have the ensure they did the same for her because she was part of that family now.