First thing first, they needed to explain the facts and evidence in the case. "Two months ago," Inspector Bradbury said as the group got settled, "JoAnne Taylor and Kevin Philips from Norfolk were found murdered in their hotel room. According to family members, the two had been engaged for three weeks and were in London for the weekend to find a place for their wedding.
Lisa and Thomas Abignale were a married couple from New Castle. They were moving to London and were looking for a place to live, staying in the flat of a friend while he was in Paris. They weren't discovered until the tenants reported a heavy stench. There's no solid evidence to concur, but the coroner believes they were killed the same way as Taylor and Philips.
"John and Carrie Simmer, a husband and wife, were on holiday when they were found dead in their hotel room at The Towers. The murders were similar to the first double homicide, but not enough where it could be justified as the same case."
Paul and Eden said nothing. They stared at Reid in awe, reading through the files faster than Bradbury could explain them. "I assume the McClarens were next." Reid said, passing another file to Riley, skimming the information at her own pace as she listened.
"Correct, and lastly was the fifth double murder. Richard and Annette DeBois, on holiday from Montreal. A third consecutive murder is enough to justify it's a serial. They were staying at the Hotel Cantor, not far from the Grislow."
"0.23 miles," Reid specified without missing a beat. Paul glanced at his partner, trying to determine how this young man could calculate that in just his head, in a second no less. "The flat was less than two miles from those hotels, where were the first victim's staying?" He asked, looking to Bradbury for confirmation.
"The Waterfall," He replied, "It's a small motel with an ill reputation."
"A young engaged couple, probably wanted to save most of their money for the wedding." Paul said, making sure they remained involved with the investigation.
Reid stood to examine the map of London on the wall behind Bradbury. He quickly identified a tiny spot that was the motel. "It's South East, within walking distance of the Grislow, the Cantor and the Towers." He turned to the others. "Well, that establishes the unsub's comfort zone. He either works or lives within this triangular area." He indicated the invisible lines with his pinky finger."
"Unsub?" Eden inquired, her tone bitter.
"It's a term we use in the FBI, it stands for 'unknown subject'." Reid replied apologetically.
"How exactly were the victims' killed?" Riley wondered.
"The Debois autopsy reports have yet to be returned, but at first appearance, they were killed just as the others." Bradbury began to explain. "In the previous homicides, the women were heavily sedated first, a mixture of different narcotics and muscle relaxers."
Riley looked over the first autopsy report, to read the stomach contents. She reconginzed every medication and knew their side effects. "This wasn't the cause of death, though... these drugs together in these amounts... they would paralyze her, definitely, but not kill her."
Bradbury gave a nod, pleased she was on track. "Precisely. While the woman was paralyzed, the man was brutally bludgeoned. Once he was dead, the killer - or unsub as you put it - slit the woman's throat and left before she bled out."
"Slit throat…" Reid muttered, reading the coroner report over Riley's shoulder. "Slicing the carotid artery indicates he wanted the women to go quickly. He didn't want them to suffer."
"Then why kill them at all?" Paul wondered.
Reid didn't want to jump to conclusions. Truthfully, there were half a dozen reasons why the unsub would kill them this way. It could be a sign of remorse, he was sensitive to killing women, he just wanted to keep his identity secret. Words in folders and files could lead them in all kinds of directions. "In order to decide that, I need to see the bodies myself."
"I was under the impression just by reading the files, you'd be able to determine this killers personality." Mumbled Eden, her arms folded.
That's what a lot of people thought. Reid had believed that himself when he was a rookie. "Profiling isn't an exact science. It's more of a well educated theory, but there are a lot things you can tell about a killer's personality that most people don't notice, even the killer himself. Usually on the victims and the crime scene. He looked up expectantly at the three, "Is there any way I can see those?"
Paul and Eden looked to each other, as if suspecting this would happen. Reid was used to this attitude by now, the locals feeling as if he were infringing on his territory. Bradbury thought broodingly for a moment, then nodded. "I'm ordered to keep your involvement to a minimum. I can't take you to the crime scene, I can't validate your involvement in the field, not just yet… but I can justify a visit to the morgue. Inspector Eden will go with you."
Eden sighed with annoyance. "Why don't you take the cowboy, Leo. You're the one who actually asked for his help. I can stay with Paul and help the misses."
"No, Evy, you'll go," Bradbury ordered. "You're the one with the medical background, you'll be best in assisting Dr. Reid."
Reid was considering what she had said, "I suppose my job could be considered a denomination of herding, spending my time keeping criminals from running amok is similar to driving cattle."
"Pardon?" Paul asked, confused looks from everyone, including his wife.
"Inspector Eden called me a cowboy… but now that I think about it, she may just have been insulting my nationality.
Eden paused a moment, confused. At last, she turned to Riley, "Is he always like this?"
"Usually," answered Riley with amusement.
"Wonderful," Her voice dripping with disdain. She began to get to her feet. "Let's be off then, Dr. Reid."
He attempted to get on her good side by obeying her command. He got up slowly, meeting Riley's amused eyes. "So… going to the morgue… is just offering assistance?"
"I need to know everything I can about the victims in order to make a full profile." He explained, sitting next to her again. His hand reached for hers on the table, squeezing it. "I promise, we won't be here that long."
She looked adoringly into his eyes, giving a smile. This selfless attitude of his, this need to help the innocent and unprotected, was one of the reasons she had fallen in love with him. Reaching over, she gave him a kiss, careful to keep her manners in the room. "Take your time, I'm not going anywhere."
Reid gave her a kiss on the temple as he stood, following the disdain inspector out the door. It was just one day anyway. They had each other for the rest of their lives, she could sacrifice one day.
Eden drove to the morgue. Reid was grateful, considering he had enough trouble driving in America. The car ride was silent, the officer wanting nothing to do with this young man, jeopardizing her work. Reid glanced at her a few times, wanting to strike up a conversation. They could at least talk about the case. But her frigid body language prevented any words from escaping.
They pulled onto the street, parking just a few feet from the morgue. Reid climbed out of the car, looking up at the slightly rundown building, looking more like an old warehouse. "And to think, you might not have seen the morgue otherwise." Eden flashed him a bitter smile as she passed him to the front door.
That couldn't be more true. The night before his wedding, Reid lay on Morgan's couch unable to sleep. His mind was alive. He thought about the next day, fantasizing about his bride and her dress and the first day of their lives together, but he also thought about the honeymoon. He had a list of places he planned to take Riley, the famous spots of the city and a few specific places that would only be an interest to certain people. Of everything he imagined, the morgue never crossed his mind.
He followed Eden inside the cool building. It seemed so dark with such low lights. No wonder these places were so popular in horror films. Of course, the dead bodies did help.
Eden announced their arrival, flashing her police badge. Reid felt an urge to pull out his own, but knew it was useless. They were listed as Inspector Eden and Guest, which Reid found almost amusing. The receptionist alerted the coroner they were here and the two sat down to wait. Silence again.
This meant nothing to her. She grabbed a magazine and started flipping through, like she were waited for her turn with the dentist. It was sad. These people had been important to someone, they were ripped away from the world to satisfy the needs of a mentally unbalanced person. And then they were nothing but names on a toe tag. The aftermath of a murder.
"Evy?" The coroner asked as he stepped out.
She gave a smile, setting her magazine aside and standing up. "Alex," she cried, hurrying over. "How are you?"
"Oh, fine," Reid stood as the man gave her a kiss on the cheek. "Still keeping the city safe?"
"For the most part." She glanced behind her and rolled her eyes. "Alex, this is Dr. Spencer Reid with the FBI, he's here to see the victims in the couple homicide case."
"FBI?" he asked, looking to Reid curiously. "Has this become so serious, they're calling in reinforcements from all the way across the pond?"
"My involvement wasn't intentional." Reid explained, stepping over. At least Alex was offering his hand, which he promply accepted. "I was here for... other matters."
"He's on his honeymoon." Eden said with a sneer.
Reid glared at her, liking her less the longer they spent together. Alex gave a laugh. "Well... I can recommend a good divorce lawyer."
"My wife and I are fine." Reid nodded. He couldn't help feeling after all the trouble he caused he deserved this. "And the sooner I see these bodies, the faster I'll be able to get back to her, so shall we?"
His words only brought a colder expression to Inspector Eden, but the coroner was offended. He gave a nod, indicating the swinging doors. "Right this way."
They followed him inside the next room. The autopsy room, colder and darker than the waiting area. His eyes landed on the closed drawers lining the wall. No matter how many bodies he looked at, the sight of those drawers still unnerved him.
Alex moved aside a table holding another body he'd been working on. He walked to the drawers, opening the first one, rolling it out and pulling back the sheet. A young woman with red hair. The one beside it followed, this one revealing a sandy haired man. "These are the Simmers, their family wants them shipped to the funeral home tomorrow. It seems you got here just in time."
A few rows down, he pulled out two more. "I'm sorry, the first victims were already checked out, the second were too decomposed to remain here." As he pulled the second sheet away, he announced "These are the McClarens."
The man was older, gray was mixed with his jet black hair. He was older than his bride... a dark brunette with soft curls.
Reid didn't want to admit how affected he was by her, noticing how much she looked like Riley. There couldn't be more than ten years difference between them. Death always made things seem so final and random, no matter who the victim was. Staring at a doppleganger of his new wife just made things worse. He wondered if this man loved her as much as he loved Riley... how had they found each other? Did the McClarens fight as hard as they did to be together? One minute they were a happy couple with their whole lives ahead of them... and now they lying side by side in refrigerated drawers.
He hadn't realized how long he'd been staring at Mrs. McClaren, nor that Eden was staring at him, watching him cautiously. "Dr. Reid?" She asked, much more softly than before. "Do you notice anything about the bodies?"
He came back to reality, realizing he was supposed to be working. The sooner he got done with this, the sooner he got back to Riley. Alex handed him a pair of rubber gloves so he could begin profiling the bodies. Reid moved to man first."
"Wound in the back of the head suggests the attack was a surprise." Reid indicated, "This alone would have been cause of death, the overkill was personal. This person certainly had a grudge against men."
"All men?" Eden wondered, looking over his shoulder as he examined.
"I can't say for sure, but from the looks of it... alpha males." He stood up, looking over the sculpted abdomen, now covered in post-mortem bruising. "This man is older, in good physical shape, well groomed. He had to have a high paying, prestigious job. Look at the wife he chose." He glanced at Alex. "What's the age difference between these two?"
"Mr. McClaren was... 47." Alex said, checking the toe tag, he turned to look at the pedicured toe on the other side. "Mrs. McClaren was... 22."
"More than a twenty year age difference. Girls don't marry older men without money and looks attached." Reid indicated. He glanced at John Simmer down the line. "Mr. Simmer may have been younger, but he fits the profile of an alpha. Whoever did this was angered by an alpha male at previous point in his life."
Gathering his strength, he moved to look over the wife. Inspector Eden followed. "So... what do you think? His wife ran away with a tougher man and it turned him mental?"
"No," He answered determinedly. His rubber fingers lifted a few dark curls to examine the first penetration of the knife wound. "If that were the case, he'd more than likely bludgeon the female as well. I'd think he's more angry at a father figure, like a stepfather or uncle, someone who's probably not blood related, either."
"Okay, if he's not angry at women, why killed them?" Eden wondered. "If they paralyzed, they haven't seen them."
"We don't know that." Reid corrected. "But whether they did or not, I'd suspect there's an emotional reason why he's killing the women. He does it quickly... there's no other injuries, no rape... and the amount of drugs in the system would keep them from feeling pain..."
It suddenly dawned on him, having encountered an unsub with similar motives before. "It's not murder."
"Suicide?" Eden asked, skeptical.
"No, I mean... it's a mercy killing." His fingers messed her curls a bit, setting them back against her neck. "He's putting the women out of their misery."
Eden was surprised he figured that out. That was certainly something she and the others wouldn't think of on their own. "What misery is he saving them from?"
At last, he looked up, meeting her questioning eyes. "I don't know."